To Be The Very Best
by Infernal Maelstrom
Summary: '...like no one ever was.' They were simply the opening lyrics to the theme song of a Saturday morning cartoon but for a young boy, they captured the very essence of what he wanted to do. Thus begins the chronicles of the man who would be admired, feared and envied throughout the world; Champion Red.
1. Chapter 1

To Be The Very Best 

Chapter One

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**A/N: Yes, I know I am starting a new fic when when I already have the winds of change to work on but this is for NaNo, and to get me into the swing of writing again.**

**Alright, enough babbling now. On to the story. Read and Review, people =D**

* * *

"Welcome to another episode of Great Places and Great People!" a cheery voice chirps out as the camera pans to take in the sight of famous television host Vivian Logrange.

"Today we are at an amazing site; one that has continued to churn out legends that have affected the entire world. Is it something in the water? Or some sort of genius lode? Join me as we investigate this place together!

Oh wait. Have you guys guessed where we are yet?" the reporter asks the screen as she smiles cheekily.

The camera pans out, revealing the reporter to be standing in front of a laboratory that was unmistakeable to anyone that had not been living under a rock. The reporter throws her arms out wide and lets out a wide grin.

"Yep, you've got it! We're at Pallet Town, the Town of Beginnings, today. Pallet Town is famous for being the hometown of Professor Samuel Oak, the world's leading authority on all things Pokémon, Gym Leader Gary 'Blue' Oak, former Champion and current Viridian Gym Leader and last, but most definitely not least, the person that is arguably the world's strongest trainer, Champion Red!"

- Introduction of 'Great Places and Great People', Episode 3

* * *

_A tall man with broad shoulders stood before him. The sun was behind him and his facial features were indistinguishable. What was, however, extremely easy to note was the mess of black that just seemed untameable, and the red cap that was nestled in that mess._

_He reached out his hands and ruffled the hair of the boy that stood before him._

_"I'm gonna be back real soon, and when I do, your pops is gonna be a hero, boy. You're gonna be the son of a great adventurer!" the man proclaimed with a wide grin on his face._

_The child, however, did not care for any of that. He did not want his father gone. He did not want to be left at this building where all the children who had no parents were left. He was fine with being the child of an ordinary man, but he could not say that out. Young as he was, the child was able to see the fire burning in the man's eyes; the unquenchable thirst to prove himself._

_If he spoke up right now, his father might, just might, reconsider this. However, the child could not do this. It would kill the man, the child knew, to be forced to curb his desires and be rooted to this town without realising his dream._

_As such, he simply nodded his head and grinned widely. "Okay, dad."_

_The man ruffled the child's head once more before he nodded once, as though he was just reminded of something. He took the cap off his head and placed it on his son's head. It was a little too big for the child, so it slid forward and covered most of his face, but that simply caused the man and child to laugh and giggle respectively._

_"That there is my super important cap. I'm passing it to you now. You better look after it well, 'cause when I come back, I'm gonna collect it from you. Got that?"_

_The child nodded fervently and waved his father goodbye until the man could no longer be seen. And then, all the energy seemed to drain out of him as his hand dropped like a puppet's limb with its wires cut._

_Sullenly, despondently, the child turned back to face the building that would be his home for, unbeknownst to him, the next seven years._

* * *

The first thing that struck him was the sweet smell of the grass. That was why he chose to nap out here, after all. It was wonderful to smell something nice the moment that one woke up.

It also helped a lot that the ground and grass that he was lying on was extremely soft and spongy. It was, in fact, better than his old, beaten mattress in his apartment. Too bad his attempts to cart back lumps of soil and grass back home to use as a mattress were to no avail and simply resulted in him having to spend effort cleaning out his apartment afterwards.

He opened his eyes and immediately regretted it, wincing as the harsh sunlight tried its best to incinerate his eyes. Definitely not the best idea that he had had.

* * *

Wait. He normally covered his face with his cap to prevent that exact scenario from happening. Where had his cap gone? His heart rate spiking a little, he groped around blindly around him, getting a little more frantic with every passing second until his hands met the familiar surface of his well-worn cap.

He sighed in relief as he placed the cap over his face and embraced the coolness and darkness that it brought with it, although the affectionate pat on his cap showed that the sigh was not purely from the escape from the sun that the cap provided.

When he was finally ready to stop being so indolent and slothful, he stood up and stretched luxuriously, gangly arms reaching up to the sky. That was the problem with late growth. His body just extending for what seemed like forever, leaving him looking, and feeling, extremely awkward whenever he was not prone.

He placed the cap on his head, his lips quirking slightly at the snug feeling that action brought, instead of slipping and falling about like it had in the past. He could still that small bit of happiness he had felt when he realised that the cap had fit properly on his head for the first time. It was a small little thing but sometimes, one just had to take whatever small blessings that they could find.

He looked at the vast expanse of wilderness from the top of the small hill that he was on, drinking in the indescribable sight that books or television programmes simply could not capture well enough. To others, it might seem daunting, maybe even foreboding. However, to him, it was as though the plains were challenging him, beckoning him, with their myriad of mysteries.

That was why he could never hate his father for leaving for adventure. Hate him for leaving him; yes, but never hate the man for his thirst for adventure. How could he, when he felt the very same way?

The bright sunlight that had fallen on him dimmed as the sun slowly set. It seemed like he had napped for longer than he had expected. Oh well, he knew his way back well enough that he could afford to watch the sunset anyway. What difference did a few more minutes make when he was free for the day? He rarely had a day off so he might as well enjoy today and take it easy.

The setting sun dyed the plains madder red; Red like his cap; Red like his eyes. Red, like his name was. Well technically it was more of a nickname that the other children had cruelly given to him when he was young to set him further apart from them, but he had adopted that as his name and even introduced himself as Red to anyone that he met.

It made poetic justice to him. They had tried to dehumanise him by depriving him of a name, tried to set him apart and demean him. However, he would take that nickname that they had given him and turn it into a legend. He would rise above all of the naysayers and petty taunting and one day, the name of Champion Red would resound throughout Kanto. That was the dream- no, goal that he had set for himself.

But, for now, he had to deal with more practical problems like getting home before all the light bled out of the world. Route 1 was generally safe, with only a few weak Ratata and Pidgeys scattered thereabouts, thanks to the efforts of Professor Oak's aides and the Viridian Gym trainers. They regularly swept the route to ensure that the Pokémon did not get too out of hand, culling the stronger ones either by killing or capturing them and leaving the rest to maintain a stable ecosystem.

That way, budding trainers no longer died a gruesome death just a day after beginning their journey, and the main roads that vehicles travelled through were almost never attacked anymore, boosting the trade between Pallet Town and Viridian City.

All of that was good and all, but what mattered to Red was that it was safe for a savvy youth to escape from the judgemental looks of the townspeople, and a great way to save on some expenses by catching his meals out here in the wild.

However, day and night were very different times out in the wild. The diurnal species of Pokémon tended to be a little more docile in these human-manned areas as they were afraid that acting out too much might draw unwanted attention to themselves and bring about an end to their trouble-making. Permanently.

The nocturnal species, however, were much more feral and daring. After all, humans rarely patrolled in the wild at night and the nocturnal species thus had free reign over their territory. Any human, and that included Red, caught unawares by a pack of hungry Ratata would have their bones picked cleaned within minutes.

With that in mind, Red turned around and slid down the slope of the hill rather than slowly climb down to make haste and full use of the dwindling sunlight.

As a result of the great speed that he was sliding down, Red was only able to catch a glimpse of a flash of yellow before his foot stepped on something that was distinctly not grass. He only had time to think 'What's it doing here?' before his body started to spasm from the currents of electricity flowing through his body.

It ended after a short while, thankfully, although Red swore that he had blacked out for at least a few seconds during that attack. Although he did not have full control of his body at the moment, he retained enough muscle control for him to roll away from the electric rodent, coughing harshly as he did so.

A metallic, coppery taste filled his mouth as he coughed, telling him that the electric shock had harmed his internal organs, although he had no idea what was injured. His heart hammered in his chest as he struggled to get up to his feet, partly from his near death encounter and partly from the massive seizure that his heart had likely gone through.

He saw a brief of flash and sound of low growling and had the presence of mind to throw himself to the side, colliding painfully with the ground just as a bolt of high voltage electricity impacted against the ground where he had been earlier.

What the hell was a Pikachu doing so far from Viridian Forest?! In order to get to Route 1, it would have to exit Viridian Forest, travel down Route 2 and then get through Viridian City. What kind of insane migration pattern was that? And then, to add on to the mystery, there was the Pikachu's ridiculously powerful electric attack; well, for its strength level, anyway.

Over the centuries since humans had landed on Kanto from their boats and waged war against the eldritch creatures roaming the land, humans had had to adapt to the harsh environments that they found themselves in. Skin became thicker and bodies became tougher. What was once lethal for the first migrants were now simply extremely painful for the current humans.

Based on the diminutive size of the Pikachu and the fact that they were in bloody Route 1, the Pikachu that he had accidentally antagonised should be of a relatively low level, with the only electric move in its arsenal being Thundershock. However, a Thundershock does not nearly kill a fit youth in one attack. It might have been a possibility against small children or the frail elderly but definitely not him.

Things just did not add up!

He could fix this though. Having worked in Professor Oak's lab for almost four years now, he knew how to deal with the occasional feral and aggressive Pokémon. He could fix this. Probably. Hopefully.

He slowly raised his hands in a non-threatening manner to show that he had no weapons concealed in his hands as he slowly backed away, muscles intentionally relaxed to display that he had no intention of attacking.

"Right, I'm sorry for stepping on your tail but it was an accident. I don't want any trouble so how about we just let bygones be bygones, yeah?" Red spoke in as level a tone as he could manage, considering the situation that he was in.

The Pikachu probably did not understand him at all but that did not matter. What did matter was speaking in a calm and level tone so that the Electric-Type understood his intentions.

It was to no avail though, as the Pikachu simply growled once more while its tail shot up straight, pointing at Red. The first thing that Red caught was how long and big it was, and then numerous dirty and inappropriate jokes ran through his typical teenager mind before he forcefully shoved those thoughts away and desperately threw himself to the side, avoiding death by electrocution by a hair.

"Bloody hell!" Red snarled as he plunged his hand into his jacket and drew the knife that he kept hidden within an inner pocket that he had sewn himself. The Pikachu seemed to be out for blood but Red was not going to simply roll over and die. If it wanted a piece of him, it was going to have to work for it.

His eyes darted to the long tail waving in the air. Well at least now he knew why the Pikachu's Thundershock had been so strong. Studies had shown that the intensity of a Pikachu or Raichu's attacks were positively correlated to the length of their tails. The one before him was probably formed from a genetic defect, considering how small the Pikachu was. From head to toe, it was probably 25 centimetres, just a little over half the size of a full-grown Pikachu, while its tail was almost twice its body length.

He had always believed that the one with the initiative has the advantage.

Red sprinted at the Pikachu, knife out and ready to carve the damned rodent into pieces when he noticed the Pikachu looking at the knife in his hands with its beady eyes, before it let out a wicked grin. The teenager cursed and flung the knife ahead of him at the ground, just in time for it to attract another Thundershock from the Pikachu.

That damned pipsqueak actually recognised what a knife was and what properties it held that it could make use of! This thing wasn't wild. It had obviously spent quite some time around human settlements; probably Viridian City, and had learnt all that it needed to in order to survive.

He continued to rush towards the Pikachu, intending to make full use of the downtime between a Pokémon's attacks to close as much distance as he could. He picked up his knife as he passed it, a guttural groan of pain coming from his throat as his hands closed around the superheated handle but he held on to it anyway.

He bent down low and slashed at the Pikachu, attempting to carve a deep gash across its body. However, the Pikachu's small frame came into use as it jumped back nimbly, dodging his strike. Unfortunately for it, Red had more than the instincts that a Pokémon worked with. He had the intelligence and foresight of a human.

Having already planned a course of action should his attack miss, Red followed up on his failed strike smoothly, pushing off with his right foot and stepping in with his left, before his right leg lashed out and caught the Pikachu in the ribs mid-jump, sending it hurtling through the air like a soccer ball.

That had to have hurt.

Red surged forward once more, intending to press his advantage and end this fight once and for all. The moment there was even a hint of a yellow glow, Red threw his knife forward once more, using it once again as a shield against the Pikachu's Thundershocks. This time, however, the attack came faster than he had expected it and struck the knife mid-air, blasting it a distance away and probably destroying it in the process.

The loss of a knife hurt; they weren't cheap, after all, but at least the fight was his. He managed to get into melee range while the Pikachu was recharging and launched another kick at it.

The Pikachu jumped- not away, but at his leg, grunting at the pain but desperately holding onto Red's leg with its paws and teeth. The hair on Red's leg started to stand as a faint yellow glow started to build around the Electric-Type.

Red cursed as he saw what the Pikachu was attempting to do and he slammed both hands down in a hammer blow but it was to no avail. The Pikachu refused to budge. His heart started to beat erratically as he frantically landed blow after blow, trying to get the electric rat off him.

He did not make it in time.

Red screamed in agony as the Thundershock lanced through his body. He toppled down onto the ground, convulsing wildly as pain wracked his entire being. His hand swept across a rock in the middle of his spasms and he latched on to it, bringing it down on the Pikachu's head in a last-ditch attempt fuelled by desperate and the primal instinct to survive.

He heard a loud squeak and the electrical assault finally ended.

His eyes shifted and he saw the Pikachu lying a distance away; his blow had apparently been strong enough to knock it away for a small distance, stunned, but still conscious.

He was in no state to move now but thankfully, neither was the Pikachu. For the moment. Red was not about to bet his life on the faint hope that he could just lie there and be safe. He had always been the competitive sort anyway and he was not losing this fight.

He grunted and groaned as he forced his abused body to move, scrabbling at the ground to shift his body into a better position. He managed to flip his body over so that he was facing the ground and then his strength gave out and his face crashed into the ground painfully. His nose was hurting incredibly; probably broken and his mouth tasted of soil.

He spat it out as he struggled up again. He was not going to give up. He was never going to give up, no matter what it was. He could not give up. He would win. He would win!

Red let out a triumphant roar as he finally made it to his feet and stared down at the Pikachu. He probably looked like a sorry sight, with blood all over his feet and his clothes torn and tattered, while dirt was smeared on almost every inch of his exposed skin. But that did not matter. What mattered was that he had won.

He did not have the strength to finish the Pikachu off so he simply stared it in the eyes, smirked, and then hobbled to his apartment where he could finally rest.

* * *

Thankfully, and miraculously, Red managed to get back to his apartment without meeting a single soul. It would have been extremely difficult and awkward to try to explain to anyone he met as to why he was so battered and dirty. Of course, that fact that he used the back alleys that he knew better than the back of his hand probably contributed a lot to his success.

He entered his apartment, closed the door behind him and promptly sank down to the ground in sheer exhaustion. There wasn't anywhere of his body that did not ache. In fact, he was sure that he was hurting in places that he did not know existed or could hurt. His limbs were twitching slightly, probably from the overexposure to electricity, and felt heavier than lead at the same time. His vision was swimming and he felt an incredible urge to just collapse onto his bed that looked so tempting now despite being so ratty. It was just...so...far...away...

Red stretched out his arm in an imploring fashion, beseeching the bed to come towards him while he wore the most anguished expression on his face possible, before he could not take it any longer and collapsed in a fit of giggles. it had become habit by now to entertain himself like this by doing silly things when he was by himself; the by-product of being a social pariah when he was a child.

Feeling much better now after his giggle fit, Red slapped his cheeks lightly and got to his feet. As much as he wanted to just rest and sleep at the moment, it would be far more prudent to clean himself up first and then dress any open wounds that he had. If he crashed on his bed now with how filthy he was, he would have to throw his bed out the next day because the filth would have set it and be impossible to remove, which would be a waste as the bed might be ratty but it was still clean and serviceable.

And so, Red trudged into the small bathroom and turned the shower on, hissing because of the sudden cold and also because of the pain of having the water come into contact with his open wounds. As always, Red endured it, scrubbing himself clean as quickly as he could so that he could get out of the freezing cold shower.

With that done, Red dried himself off and took out his first aid kit, disinfecting his wounds and then bandaging him before he crashed onto his bed, falling asleep before his head had even hit the pillow.

He opened his eyes to the familiar sight of his apartment's ugly ceiling, noting that the paint seemed to have peeled even more in the last few days when he was not home. Oh well. He would hopefully be out of Pallet Town in two to three months anyway. There was no need to think too much about some peeling paint when he had more pressing matters to attend to, like breakfast.

He sprung out of bed like he usually did, ready to greet the new day with enthusiasm and promptly regretted it when his body reminded him that he had suffered grievous wounds the day before and was in no shape to be jumping around.

"Agh." Red moaned as he doubled over in pain before he slowly hobbled over his food cupboard and took out a strip of dried Ratata that he had hunted and dried by himself. The taste was far from being appealing and the meat was incredibly tough but at least it came free and he could keep food for some period of time even though he did not have a refrigerator.

The alarm clock sounded, causing Red to perk up as he was reminded that it was five minutes to ten on a Saturday morning; the one thing that he looked forward to every week. He bounded (as well as he could in his current state) over to the television and turned it on, almost vibrating with excitement and impatience as he waited for the commercials to end.

This television was another reason why he was extremely grateful to Professor Oak and held the researcher in such high esteem. Back when he was twelve and had just moved into the apartment after obtaining a job as the Professor's assistant, the Professor had learnt of his situation and, knowing of Red's fierce pride and independent streak, passed the television to Red by claiming that it was an old set that had been sitting around in his home and was going to be replaced by a newer model soon.

Still rather young and in awe of a legendary figure because he was not used to the Professor yet, Red had accepted the man's words at face value and happily accepted the 'toss-away'. Of course, he learnt the truth of the matter later on and while he could not simply return the television, he made sure to reject the Professor when the grandfatherly old man had tried to foist a refrigerator off on him.

The opening lyrics of what was hands-down his favourite song played on the television and Red halted his reminiscing and instead focused intently on the cartoon, singing along with the theme song happily.

"I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was~" Red belted out heartily, smiling from ear to ear. He might already be sixteen this year and the plot of the cartoon might be pretty bad right now but Red would always hold this cartoon dearly in his heart, which was why he caught every episode right when it was broadcasted without fail.

'Pokémon Adventures' was a Saturday morning cartoon that focused on the journey and travels of the protagonist Ash Ketchum whose aim was to be become a Pokémon Master( although it was never defined what a Pokémon Master actually was), and travelled around the world catching Pokémon and challenging Gym Leaders. The Gym Leaders had all consented to 'being' in the show and the entirety of Kanto had had a great laugh when Gym Leader Brock had appeared on the cartoon with slits of eyes; an exaggeration of his small eyes. Professor Oak had appeared in the television programme as well, along with that douche of a grandson, Gary Oak, snidely called 'Blue' by Red and only Red.

Now, the question was, why would esteemed figures like Gym Leaders, Professor Oak and even the Elite Four consent to being portrayed in a cartoon and losing to a ten year old that did not even know the difference between his ass and his hands?

The answer was actually pretty simple, if one bothered to look past the surface and was willing to think a little. First of all, what was the one thing that all of these famous people had to account to? What was the one organisation that gave these trainers and researcher their authority? Why, the Pokémon League, of course.

After that, one took into the context in which the cartoon was created. Ten years ago, which was just a scant decade after the brutal Kanto-Johto war. Not a battle, but a war, which was only stopped after Champion Samuel Oak and the then Elite Four had stepped in and crushed everyone that was fighting, regardless of which side the victims were on. People and Pokémon on both sides were massacred so badly that in the end, peace was called for simply because both nations no longer had any troops to fight with.

That war was when legends had been created that would probably be remembered for over a century. Samuel Oak, all around nice-guy researcher, eldritch battle machine and bogeyman of Kanto and Johto. Lance Blackthorn, heir of the Blackthorn clan, member of the Elite Four and undisputed master of Dragons at the age of 13. There mere mention of these two names to any veteran soldiers who had fought the war and survived (few as they were) would leave hardened soldiers trembling in their boots.

However, after the treaty had been signed and the dust had settled, the Pokémon League realised that the war had cost the nation thousands of experienced trainers. A new problem, but an old threat, had resurfaced; wild Pokémon.

In order to preserve the ecosystem and out of superstition (though mainly because of the ecosystem because seriously. Who believed in that Legendaries nonsense?), humans had deliberately curtailed the expansion of their settlements and left areas unclaimed where wild Pokémon roamed free. This resulted in a delicate balance that had to be managed very carefully. Too little wild Pokémon and the entire environment went haywire; Too many wild Pokémon, and one would have start having wild Pokémon swarms attacking travellers and even towns and cities.

Lavender Tower would forever remain a reminder of the threat that wild Pokémon posed. Without a Gym of their town and with almost no League Trainers in the town, the residents of Lavender Town had been caught flat-footed when a massive horde of Nidokings and Nidoqueens charged out of Route 10 and into Lavender Town, levelling over three quarters of the town before League Trainers before arrived and subdued the wild Pokémon. The casualty toll had been so high that they had to build a tower- Lavender Tower, to hold not the graves, but the tablets of the deceased. Lavender Tower would then later become the 'national' gravesite.

Back to the topic at hand, in order to deal with the problem of wild Pokémon, the League needed more trainers. Unfortunately, most of the adults that could have been trainers had already been killed in the war and all that were left were children. Therefore, the League used the children.

Of course, the League could not simply conscript the children to be trainers; not in those times, at least. What they did was a lot more indirect. They lowered the age and skill requirements to be a Trainer. As long as one was ten and passed basic tests, children were given a starter Pokémon and sent out to the wilds. Of course, lowering the standards was just one prong. They had to generate interest as well. The League's propaganda machine started churning.

Trainers were glamorised and the wilds were portrayed as less dangerous than they actually were. Everything started to revolve around Pokémon and there was a huge boom in anything Pokémon-related. The 'Pokémon Adventures' Cartoon that Red was currently watching was one such product of the League's propaganda.

Naturally, this did not last long when young trainers that were inexperienced started dying in the boatloads out in the wilds. The League would not have cared as long as the trainers settled at least ten wild Pokémon before they died but eventually the civilians that were worried kicked up too much of a fuss and the age limits were raised and the requirements made stricter.

However, Red knew nothing of this when he first laid eyes on the cartoon. Truth be told, even if he knew the truth behind it, he would not have cared. For a lonely child that had been as good as abandoned by his father, the opening lyrics of the theme song were extremely to him and struck a chord in his heart.

To be the very best, like no one ever was.

Red had looked around him and saw people admiring and fearing the Pokémon Trainers that strutted around. He saw Trainers receiving the recognition that he craved so much and the lyrics had resounded in his head. If normal trainers were so respected, then someone who has the best of the best, the strongest trainer ever, then wouldn't he be recognised by everyone?

The need for recognition had dimmed over the years but his goal still remained the same; to be the very best. As a result, Red was extremely sentimental towards the cartoon that had inspired him and every time he heard the lyrics, he was reminded of what he strove to be.

The episode ended after thirty minutes and Red was left with an entire Saturday left to himself. Today was another off day, probably because the Professor needed to get the starter Pokémon ready for the new trainers in a month and that was delicate work that he handled himself. It would, after all, be nightmarish if a new trainer's starter Pokémon turned on its trainer and killed the trainer before the trainer's journey had even begun.

So, what should he do? Read a book again? Red's eyes drifted to the bookshelf that was filled with second-hand books that he had reread countless times; books that told the tale of a lonely boy seeking solace in wondrous tales of other worlds. Alternatively, he could start preparing for his own test that Professor Oak would administer in two months by using the computer...

Red's eyes flicked over to the old but usable computer that he had bought with his own money as he wondered if he was feeling hardworking enough to do some studying and ignore the temptation to play if he was on the computer. Speaking of playing...Red's eyes could not help but be drawn to his pride and joy; the rack sitting right beside the computer that was filled with Technical Machines that he had won as prizes from online simulated battling.

In the end, Red decided to try to spend the entire day studying. If he happened to get distracted and ended up playing, well, he had two months anyway. No hurry, right?

* * *

Life returned to normal.

He went back to working at the Professor's lab, obtained a new knife and put the incident with the Pikachu behind him. He was unlikely to meet it again considering he had just shown it that the area around Route 1 was dangerous and wild Pokémon tended to be all about self-preservation. Even the attacks on settlements were generally because their habitat had run out of food and they were looking for a new food source or something similar.

As a result, when Red wandered off to Route 1 after work on a Monday afternoon, he honestly did not expect to be ambushed by the same Pikachu that he had defeated. The only thing that saved him from being fried was the slight smell of ozone in the air and his quick reflexes.

The moment he heard something that sounded different from the normal wildlife sounds in Route 1, he dropped down and rolled to the side without hesitation, drawing his new knife as he did so. The sound of a Thundershock hitting the ground reached his ears and Red scowled. He looked up and saw the very same Pikachu charging at him with blinding speed.

"Wha-" was all that Red managed to get out when the Pikachu dodged his kick nimbly and latched onto his shirt. It had apparently discovered the best way to shock its prey senseless. A strangled cry emerged from Red's throat as he was once again assaulted with pain beyond belief. He was not going to just suffer like this though. He had broken through it once. He would do it again.

Red pushed through the pain and stabbed downwards with his knife, intending to end the Pikachu that had menaced him for one too many times. However, it had probably learnt from the lesson and jumped off his chest the moment it sensed movement and Red was just barely able to prevent himself from stabbing himself in the chest and committing suicide.

Close range was no longer as safe an option as the previous encounter. Red looked around himself, trying to spot any rocks or small objects that he could use as projectiles but was unable to find any. The sneaky rodent had chosen a very good spot for an ambush.

The Electric-Type was not going to give Red any time for respite or to come up with a plan. Spears of electricity lanced through the sky, all with the express intent of taking Red down. The teenager, on the other hand, could only focus on defending himself and keeping himself alive. He was caught between a Geodude and a hard place. Staying at range meant trying to outlast Pikachu, where his only hope of winning was to dodge every single Thundershock until the Pikachu ran out of stamina, where a single mistake was fatal. Alternatively, he could close in, where the damned rat could try that contact Thundershock again.

In the end, Red chose what he felt was the safer option; attempt to outlast the Pikachu. Getting in close range was simply too dangerous now that his enemy could read his movements, especially since he had limited angles to attack the Pikachu from due to its small size and speed. On the other hand, if he was simply dodging an attack that he knew was coming, the possibilities expanded widely.

The young male did extremely well for himself but in the end, it was to no avail. He had come out to relax after a tiring day of work. His body, although sturdy, was not as sturdy as a Pokémon's that was practically made for battle and would have undoubtedly healed much more quickly and was therefore more damaged than the Pikachu.

In the end, he made a mistake. Just one mistake, but one mistake was all that the Pikachu needed. He miscalculated the timing of an incoming Thundershock and fell to the ground, body paralysed and twitching from the pain. The Pikachu pressed its advantage ruthlessly, raining Thundershocks down on the prone human until the Pokémon was absolutely certain that its target was incapable of a single motion.

It then slowly made its way to the human and Red could see that the Pikachu was panting and gasping heavily. He had apparently the Pikachu close to its limits. If he had just lasted for a little longer, the fight would have been his. As it was now, he would die here, killed by a random wild Pokémon before he had even started on accomplishing his goal.

Red clenched his teeth as a few tears of frustration escaped from his eyes. It just wasn't fair! Why did he always have to get the short stick? Why could he never have a break? He wanted to scream his torment to the skies but his vocal cords could not even work. Well, even if he was going to die, he was going to die staring death right in the face.

Red kept his eyes open defiantly, staring at his executioner with utmost loathing and hatred. The unnaturally long tail rose up into the air like an executioner's axe and then it dropped down swiftly. Red never closed his eyes despite the fear coursing through him, which was why he was able to catch the sight of the tail stopping right before it would have cut through his throat and instead tapped his throat lightly.

The Pikachu then flashed what was unmistakeably a smirk at him and then sauntered off into the night, as smug as a possible as a Pikachu could be while Red could do nothing but wait until he regained control of his body.

* * *

After his defeat by Pikachu, Red returned to Route 1 to hunt the Pikachu down as revenge for his defeat. Having planned his course of action properly, Red was able to take the Pikachu down without too much difficulty. Once again, instead of killing the Pokémon, Red left the rodent alive even though he had the physical capacity to kill it this time.

The Pikachu was the one that initiated the battle the next time and this time, it was the Pikachu's win. Once again, the loser was left alive and the winner left the battlefield having gained nothing except for personal satisfaction.

Red won the next two fights, and then the Pikachu won several, with the victory tally rapidly see-sawing between the human and the Pokémon. Throughout the entire 'war' between the two individuals, lethal attacks were constantly exchanged, but somehow, the loser always managed to escape alive whether by divine providence or by mortal intentions.

Unbeknownst to both parties, because it was hard to sense changes within oneself, and because the other party was growing at an equally rapid rate, the two enemies were growing at an inconceivable rate.

In the case of Red, he became able to spot ambushes coming from a mile. He was constantly alert, taking in the terrain around him and noting where possible ambushers could be, and then taking active steps to prevent himself from being ambushed. At the same time, he was learning how to ambush an enemy via trial-and-error. If it worked against the Pikachu, he would keep the method in mind. If he failed, he would analyse the reasons behind the failure and then attempt to improve on them.

His reaction speed to attacks, sudden or not, improved as well due to the amount of attacks that he was forced to dodge. Naturally, he was never able to dodge all of the attacks, especially on the occasion when he lost. Those were times when he took a lot of hits and a lot of damage. As a result, Red's pain threshold increased drastically. It was hard not to get inured to pain when one was continuously electrocuted, bitten and clawed for almost a month. Because of all the times that he was forced to think on his speed and improvise when something unexpected happened or one of his plans went awry, Red's cognitive speed improved as well, allowing him to think faster and sometimes, better.

Finally, the most obvious changes were in his physique. While Red had been no slouch previously, having kept himself fit through exercise and work as he knew that a trainer needed to be fit, the fast-paced, hellishly strenuous fights that he got into with the Pikachu pushed his body to its limits and beyond every time and there were marked improvements in his speed, strength and balance.

The Pikachu obtained roughly the same benefits from the fights. It became much more cunning when it realised that direct, upfront attacks were far more likely to fail than attacks that came from an unexpected angle. It was forced to work its brain like it had never before. Continuous use of its ability to generate electricity made its Thundershocks far more potent and scarier than they had ever been before, though there was still a way to go before they reached the level of being called Thunderbolts.

All in all, it was a win-win relationship, even if it was a very strange one and things would have likely continued in the same vein if not for an event that acted as a catalyst to cement what their future relationship would be like.

* * *

Red walked out onto the plains, hands raised and an apple in hand.

"Come in peace, I do, with offerings in hand." Red stated as he neared what was likely to be an ambush position. He paused in his movements and waited patiently. Sure enough, the tall grass started rustling after some time and a long yellow tail poked out of the grass, followed by a frowning face which soon transformed into a look of glee at the apple in Red's hand. Its tail lowered and the Pikachu deigned to walk at Red's side as he made his way to his favourite spot.

Red sighed in relief when the wild Pokémon accepted his tribute. Although fighting and battling was exhilarating and a great way to train himself, the reason why he had come out to Route 1 in the first place was to relax and one could hardly relax when one was constantly on the lookout for an ambush.

As a result, Red had taken to trying to bribe the Pikachu whenever life got too tiring for him and he just wanted to relax and not have to fight for his life for once. Apples had proved to be a goldmine as it seemed like the Electric-Type simply adored them and was willing to do almost anything as long it had an apple as payment.

"The official trainer licenses will be given out next week. Naturally, Blue will get his then and have one hell of a head start on me." Red said as he stared up at the sky while the Pikachu munched contentedly on the apple that was its tribute.

Red did this sometimes; simply talk to the Pikachu in one of their rare truce sessions. He doubted the Pikachu understood anything of what he said, but he did it despite the fact. Or perhaps it was because the Pikachu could not understand that he did this; to allow himself to vent while not being subjected to any judgement at all.

He chuckled self-deprecatingly and darkly at the thought. By the gods, he was pathetic, wasn't he? He sighed again. He had gotten away from Pallet Town because the hubbub over the Trainer licenses had been too much for him to take. It was not the fault of the townspeople but it grated on him that he was held back and unable to become an official trainer simply because he was an orphan and did not have enough money to pay for the Trainer courses.

He had already been angry about that fact, and the excitement in Pallet Town just made it seem like the town itself was celebrating his misfortune. Of course he knew that that wasn't true and it was just him being too sensitive, which in turn made him angry at himself for being so overly emotional and non-rational.

Oh to hell with it all. The sun was shining, the weather was cool and perfect, and the grass was so darn comfy. He was going to relax and take a nap and hopefully feel much better when he woke up.

"I'm going to take a nap." Red informed the Pikachu as he placed his cap over his face. Sometimes the wild Pokémon stayed near him for reasons that only the Pikachu itself could fathom while other times it left to do its own thing. Red did not care too much. After all, in the daytime and at this specific spot, the only Pokémon that attacked him was the Pikachu so he was most probably safe.

"See you later, maybe." Red mumbled as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Red woke up to the unfamiliar sounds of howling. He pulled his cap off his face and paled when it realised that it was absolutely dark. Night had fallen while he was sleeping. Had he truly been so exhausted that he had slept for six hours in a go?

The howling started up again, closer and Red's heartbeat spiked as he cursed under his breath. That was most likely a pack of wild Pokémon out hunting. The problem with that, however, was there was not supposed to be any canine Pokémon that were native to Route 1. There was something strange going on here. First there was the Pikachu that had appeared here and-

Red paused at the thought of the Pikachu. He looked around and spotted the wild Pokémon sleeping as well on its back, spread-eagled in the most ridiculous position possible and mumbling something in its sleep. The teenager would have called the sight impossibly adorable if he didn't know of the terrifying killing machine that the Pikachu was.

Now he had the problem of waking the Pikachu without touching it or being too close to it. After all, with how trigger-happy the Pikachu was with its electricity, Red was willing to bet his dream that if he tried to wake the Pikachu up by shaking it awake, he would be the one going to sleep; probably for eternity.

Red took his jacket off and twisted it into a whip as he started grinning mischievously. He was so going to enjoy this. With a wave to an imaginary audience, Red snapped his wrist forward, flicking his makeshift whip forwards and backwards in an instant, whipping the Pikachu awake and allowing him to retreat to a safe distance in an instant.

The result of the whipping was glorious. The Pikachu leapt into the air, squealing in pain as it lashed out with its Thundershock at an enemy that wasn't there. It looked around wide-eyed the moment it landed and then it spotted the giggling teenager with the incriminating weapon in his hand. The rodent glowered at the human, its eyes promising painful retribution until Red sobered up abruptly and motioned for it to be quiet.

Confused, the Pikachu held back from shocking the teenager into oblivion and twitched its ears even as it glared at Red warily. The sounds of howling reached its ears and the wild Pokémon stiffened as it realised what was going on. Its eyes darted towards Red and he nodded grimly as he pointed back in the direction of Pallet Town, indicating that they should take shelter there until it was safe to venture into Route 1 again.

The Pikachu mulled over the suggestion for a moment before it nodded sharply and took off in the direction that Red had pointed, with the teenager catching up soon after and taking the lead.

At least they were safe for the moment, as the canine Pokémon that were howling were out looking for prey in general and not hunting the two of them specifically. As long as other Pokémon caught their attention before the duo did, they were fine. The chances of the duo escaping without too much trouble was thus high as they were downwind from the hunting Pokémon and- and the wind abruptly changed direction, causing the hunting Pokémon to be the ones downwind now.

A series of excited yips and barks immediately resounded throughout the eerily silent Route as the Pokémon caught the scent of their prey. Red could only pray that some other unfortunate being had caught their attention but knowing his luck, he doubted that. The only thing he could do now was sprint with all his might and hope that he reached the safety of Pallet Town before they managed to catch him out in the open.

The howling drew closer with every second. The hunting Pokémon had probably gotten excited from the scent of their prey and double their effort.

At the rate that he was running, Red knew that he would be run down before he could reach Pallet Town. If that was the case, then it was pure stupidity to remain on this futile course of action.

"Continue towards Pallet!" Red shouted out. No point in having the both of them die when one could be saved.

He abruptly changed directions, veering towards a copse nearby where he prepared to stand his ground. Being out in the open where the Pokémon could simply surround him and then attack him together was foolish. He stood a better chance amongst trees where the speed of the Pokémon would be curtailed and the trees would act as obstacles to disrupt their teamwork.

To his utter amazement, instead of continuing towards Pallet, the Pikachu changed course as well and followed him to the copse where it proceeded to ignore Red's incredulous glance and readied itself by letting sparks of electricity. It intended to make the hunters be the hunted the moment that they appeared.

Red drew the new knife that he had just purchased, lips quirking at the thought of taking on a horde of wild Pokémon with nothing but a knife in hand. This was the stuff of novels and campfire bragging. He never thought that he would be attempting the same thing himself. He gripped his sole weapon tightly, his hands clammy with cold perspiration as he stared anxiously into the distance.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, acting as a herald for the arrival of the hunting Pokémon; Poochyena; a species known for being extremely tenacious and not native to Kanto, let alone Route 1. However, he did not have the time or capacity to worry about how they were here. His heart sank at the mass of grey fur that dominated his view; more than he could count in a glance and definitely more than he could take on in a fight.

The Poochyena caught sight of the prey that they had been hunting and let out a ferocious howl as they charged as one at Red and the Pikachu. The duo had a moment to take in the sight and ready themselves before they were swarmed by a mass of fur and snarling teeth as the Poochyena tried their absolute best to rip the two apart into shreds.

Thankfully, the trees served their purpose of obstacles well. The rushing horde was forced to flow around the trees, slowing them down while preventing all of them from attacking en masse. Red and Pikachu still had a tough time fighting off the horde but it was no longer unmanageable. Red was thankful for this small blessing and then he no longer had time to think about anything other than his immediate moves to ensure his continued survival.

In the dark of the night which was only occasionally lit up by the Pikachu's Thundershocks, the attacking Poochyena were like shadows to him, lunging at him before slinking away into the darkness whenever their attack was fended off. The human and Pokémon duo fought with their backs to the same tree, limiting the angle that the Poochyenas could come at them from. The Electric-Type picked off targets mid-jump with accurate Thundershocks while Red transformed into a deadly whirlwind of steel, slashing and stabbing around him furiously, intent on dealing as much as death as he could.

Eventually, however, sheer numbers won out and the duo was forced away from the tree as they gave ground in order to avoid being buried by the bodies that were being thrown at them. Once they were driven away from the tree, the attacking coming at them became more vicious. Red had to rapidly give ground as sharp teeth nipped at his ankles, attempting to cripple him when he was occupied with another Pokémon. The canines started to get smarter as well, bouncing off trees and attacking the duo form unpredictable angles. The Dark-Types were also getting used to the Pikachu's attack patterns and the Electric-Type's attacks were starting to miss more frequently.

Suddenly, they were out of the copse and Red realised belatedly that the hounds had intentionally driven them out of the copse with actual strategy. Wild Pokémon did not have strategy, especially not on a large horde basis. These Poochyena were unlike any wild Pokémon that he had encountered before.

Lightning streaked across the sky for a moment, illuminating the hellish scene in front of Red for a moment before a peal of thunder erupted extremely loudly, causing the wild(?) Poochyena to flinch and whine slightly as they pressed their ears flatly against their heads.

Red and the Pikachu immediately took the opportunity while the Poochyena were distracted to sprint towards Pallet Town. They covered five metres before the horde noticed their prey escaping and split up to flank the escaping duo and cut off their route of escape. The duo continued sprinting ahead anyway; taking advantage of the fact that only a few of the fastest Poochyena managed to flank and arrive in front of the duo to kill the canines that were blocking their way.

Of course, this could not last long and soon they were forced to stand still as they were surrounding by a pack of angry and hungry Poochyena. Red and the Pikachu got into their respective battle stances back to back and then began the brutal task of defending themselves by killing anything that moved.

Teeth flashed near his ankle again and Red responded by quickly moving his foot out of the way and then stomping down hard on the Poochyena's skull, crushing the cartilage and killing the canine instantly. Another Poochyena sank its fangs into Red's left arm and the teenager responded by slamming his knife hilt-deep into the Poochyena's eye socket, ending its life instantly. Another canine went for his throat and, since his left arm was already hurt anyway, Red used it as a shield, enduring the pain as his arm was shredded and then lashed out with his knife and finished off another of his attackers. He was too busy with his own situation to pay attention to the Pikachu but from the continued pained yelps and the flashes of electricity, along with the fact that nothing had jumped his back yet, Red assumed that the Pikachu was doing fine.

However, he was still only human and, as much as he hated to use that cliché, his enemy was legion. Wounds would accumulate no matter how hard he tried to defend and those wounds started to take their toll on his body. His body became and his reflexes were dulled, which served to cause his injuries to increase and exacerbate the situation. It got so bad that he even dropped down to a knee on one point, although he quickly scrambled up to his feet as quickly as he could.

The smell of ozone suddenly suffused the air and his hair stood on end from the static electricity saturating the air. And then, to confirm his suspicions, he heard a loud cry from the Pikachu acting as his only warning and he quickly dropped to the ground as tendrils of overcharged electricity lashed out at any moving targets, one of them striking dangerously close to where Red was lying prone. There was another loud cry and the same attack was repeated, frying a few more canines.

The Poochyena were sufficiently daunted and cautious now as they backed away cautiously, although the growls they were emanating told Red that though they were wary, the canines were still unwilling to let their prey go, which was expected of their species. This short respite did manage to allow Red to get his second wind though. He looked at the Pikachu, trying to formulate a game plan in this short time. So far, the two of them had worked with amazing teamwork purely because of the amount of times that they had fought against each other. They knew the limits and the tendencies of the other party like the back of their hand and were able to instinctively compensate for the other party's shortcomings.

When he looked at the Electric-Type, however, he saw it repeatedly jerking its head in the direction of Pallet Town. The teenager furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, trying to decipher the Pikachu's meaning and then gasped in surprise when he finally understood the Pikachu.

"You want me to escape to Pallet Town?" Red asked uncertainly and received a quick nod in reply.

"But..." Red stuttered, confused as to why the Pikachu was willing to basically sacrifice itself so that Red, a human that it had been trying to kill for a while now, could escape. Besides, he did not want to escape at the expense of what had turned out to be an extremely loyal comrade.

"No, I-" Red began before he was cut off by a bolt of electricity that struck extremely close to him and the Pikachu began jerking its head towards Pallet Town more insistently. It seemed like the Pikachu was very serious about this.

Red stared at the Pikachu for a short moment before he eventually nodded his head.

"I will be back." He stated firmly before he took off in a sprint.

Seeing that their prey was attempting to escape, the Poochyena burst into a flurry of action. Red never faltered, trusting that the Pikachu would cover his escape. There was another loud cry and the familiar sound of Thundershocks impacting against flesh.

Red kept running.

* * *

The Pikachu panted heavily as he glared at the Poochyena around it menacingly. Three of those massive attacks in a row had been extremely tiring for it but at least the human had managed to escape. For a human, it was a pretty good human and the Pikachu appreciated that.

Ignoring all the times that they had fought each other and intentionally left the other party alive, earlier, when the human had woken up before he had, it could have just run and left him behind as a decoy. Instead, it had bothered to wake him up from him, thus saving his life. The numerous apples it had given to him were also quite important but more importantly, he was supposed to be dead already. If he could save the human's life by sacrificing himself, then it wasn't too bad of a deal.

"Come at me, you mangy mutts." The Pikachu snarled, baring his teeth at the Poochyena who snarled back in defiance.

"I might be going down but I assure you a lot of you are going down with me. Now, who's first to die, hmm?"

One canine lunged forward at the taunt and was promptly zapped by a quick Thundershock from the Electric-Type. Several others howled in anger and charged forward, intent on avenging their fallen brother and then the fight was on.

* * *

The Pikachu collapsed onto the mud, his strength having given out on him as the heavy rain pounded relentlessly on his fur. The Poochyena were having fun at his expense now, trying to torture him for as long as they could before he died in return for their brethren that he had killed.

The Pikachu looked at the numerous corpses that littered the battlefield and smirked. They might kill him for this, but at least the human had escaped and he had killed off a lot of them in the process. These plains would be much safer in the future, especially when the human alerted more of its species and they swarmed the plains with their powerful metal thingies in search of the Poochyena.

The hounds saw the smirk on the Pikachu's face and tore into the rodent's flesh savagely hoping to wipe the smirk off his face but the Pikachu kept smirking anyway. This might be his loss but at the same time, his victory; a concept that he understood only after fighting the human so many times. Perhaps those stories he had heard about being partners with humans were true after all. The Pikachu wondered idly what had happened to the human that he had saved. Was it safe in his den now? He sure hoped so.

The atmosphere changed abruptly as the Poochyena stopped their assault on his defenceless body and stared off into the distance. Curious as to what they were looking at, he raised his head and saw, to his horror, a familiar shape running towards the battlefield. That fool! Had he not told it to run away and stay away? What in Mew's name was that idiot doing back here?!

The human reared one if its arms back and the Pikachu saw a long metal rod in its hand that he had failed to notice before. The human threw his arm forward and the metal soared threw the air and landed right beside him, sticking into the ground with ease thanks to the mud that had formed from the rain.

The human shouted something out and made a grabbing motion with its hands before it was forced to abandon its game of charades and defend itself against the onslaught of attacks courtesy of the Poochyenas.

He supposed the human meant for it to grab the pole, although he had no idea what it was for. Humans were widely credited by Pokémon worldwide for their ingenuity though so he supposed that there must be some purpose behind it. Although it pained him greatly to move, the Pikachu crawled over to the ground and embraced as though hugging his very lifeline.

The human shouted something again and gestured upwards in one of the few seconds that it was not being attacked.

Upwards? The Pikachu craned its head to the sky and saw nothing but the torrential rain and storm clouds pouring down on them. Was he supposed to see something up there? Or perhaps...was he meant to send something up there? The human was most familiar with his electric attacks. Was he meant to send a Thundershock up into the sky? With no other course of action available to him, the Pikachu gathered up the remnants of his strength and expulsed all of that into the most power Thundershock he could generate into the sky.

The child of thunder beseeched its parents for help, and the heavens answered.

A massive bolt of lightning crashed into the metal pole that was acting as a lightning, melting it almost instantly but not before the current of electricity flooded the Pikachu's body, instantly energising him as his depleted reserves were restored.

However, it did more than recharge his reserves. A bolt of positive lightning carries an electric current of around 300kA and contained at least a million volts of power, which was more than a single Pikachu could contain.

Just like a volcano that was about to erupt, the energy within the Pikachu kept building up until the Electric-Type could take it no longer and he released all of the energy contained within him in a massive electrical discharge, and then his vision blacked out and he collapsed onto the ground.

* * *

Red groaned as he gingerly got up from the ground. Being the only one who was expecting that explosion to happen, the teenager had turned tail and fled the moment the Pikachu sent its Thundershock into the sky but he had still been caught by the kinetic force of the explosion and was sent hurtling through the air until he crashed painfully on the ground.

On a positive note, he was not going to be hunted by any more wild Pokémon tonight. Not after that crazy light show. Red let out a low whistle as he surveyed the battlefield and the carnage that a single Pokémon had wrought. None of the Poochyena that had pursued them had survived that blast.

The teenager slowly limped his way to ground zero where his saviour lay unconscious and picked it up, cradling the Pikachu in his ruined and supporting it with his good arm.

"Thanks, bud, and good job." Red murmured as he looked over the battlefield once more before he selected the biggest and meanest Poochyena that he could find that was closest to Ground Zero and proceeded to drag that along with him as well on his trek back home.

Red knew from his reading that almost all wild Pokémon were omnivorous, if not downright carnivorous and those that did consume meat liked to eat the flesh of their conquered foe directly from the source as a trophy.

This Pikachu had just saved his life and if all it cost was some pain and effort to thank his saviour, then he was more than willing to drag the corpse with him back home.

* * *

When he arrived home, once again through the back alleys, Red immediately set about dressing the wounds of himself and the Pikachu. Having taken care of his wounds by himself almost every day for the past month, this was by now an easy act that he could do without conscious thought. Therefore, he spent most of his time worrying about the Pikachu that was still comatose.

he had no idea how to fix what was wrong with the Pikachu and if its situation did not improve by tomorrow, Red would have to go Professor Oak for help in his labs even if he did not want to as that would lead to a lot of uncomfortable questions.

He placed the Pikachu on his bed gently after he was done and then, because he had nothing else to do and because he was worried, resolved to sit at the corner of the bed and watch over the Pikachu until the next day. He realised that it was stalker-like but since Pikachu could be considered to be one of his very few friends, perhaps the only one, it was expected for the teenager to feel overly protective for his friend.

Thankfully, for his peace of mind as well as his secret, the Pikachu woke up from its coma soon after dawn broke, although it was notably groggy and confused and only calmed down when it noticed that Red was nearby.

When the human presented the Pikachu with the corpse of the Poochyena, the electric rodent leapt onto it with glee and began feasting with great satisfaction. It paused midway through its meal, chewing thoughtfully as it cocked its head to the side before it tore a shred of meat from the corpse and handed it to Red before it returned to its meal.

Red had never particularly liked dog meat and this specimen of dog meat was horribly cooked, charred in some areas while still more than a little raw in others but truthfully, it was the best-tasting thing that he had ever eaten in his life.

* * *

_Green has persuaded me to do this and Professor Oak has agreed that it is a good idea which is why the reason why you're reading it right now._

_Yes, after years of media silence, I have finally decided to write an autobiography; partly because the tales of my exploits have grown too ridiculous (I assure you, Mount. Silver did not decide to spontaneously sprout beneath my feet) and partly as a tribute to the amazing trainers that I have met on my journey._

_You will have undoubtedly heard of my conflict against Team Rocket, and my 'legendary' showdown with Giovanni where the two of us are the only ones who know what happened on that day. After much struggle, I have decided to shed light on that battle as well._

_Most importantly, however, is the fact that when people are talking about me, they only mention 'Champion Red' but rarely do my Pokémon get the acknowledgement that they deserve. Without my team, my family, I would never made it to where I was._

_That is why I will begin this with how I met my Pikachu, my most loyal Pokémon._

-Champion; Foreword.

* * *

Trainer Name: Red

Gym Badges: 0

Pokémon captured: 1 (?)

Pokémon Registered: 0

Pokémon Nickname: N/A

Pokémon Species: Pikachu

Type: Electric

Level: 14

Moves Learnt:

-Growl

-Thundershock

-Tail Whip

-Play Nice

-Thunder Wave

Trainer Notes:

Pikachu was the first Pokémon I caught and the meanest I had ever met up to date. I have no idea why it was in Route 1, so far away from Viridian Forest, but I guess I'll find out soon enough. Pikachu's body size is extremely small; probably half the size of a regular adult Pikachu but its tail, on the other is much longer than a Pikachu's tail. That tail might explain why Pikachu's electric attacks are much more powerful and focused than other Pikachus'.

It has displayed cunning as well in the way it sets up ambushes and has proven itself to be a quick learning, adapting quickly to new situations and then improving itself from each encounter.

I look forward to working together with it.

-Red


	2. Chapter 2

**To Be The Very Best**

**Chapter Two**

* * *

**A/N: So, here's another chapter of To Be the Very Best.  
**

**Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. REVIEWS ARE THE FUEL FOR A WRITER'S SOUL! So please, do review more**

**Also, following the advice from a reviewer, I have included the links for my NaNo and Donation Page in my Author's profile so check them if you're free.  
**

**Now, less babbling, more story-telling!**

* * *

_I would like to begin this by first stating that I did _not_ begin this because Red is writing his own autobiography._

_And that, would be a fairly accurate example of what I have had to struggle against for most of my life._

_Growing up as Professor Samuel Oak's grandson is not as wonderful as most people might think it to be. Sure, as a child and a teenager I had access to every material need that a child could possibly want but, while grandpa treated me just like any other child, the other people around me did not. _

_'Good job, Gary. As expected of Professor Oak's grandson' or 'My my, we'll be expecting great things from you, Mister Oak' and similar phrases and sentences were flung in my face insensitively. _

_I was born in the shadow of a giant, and that dominated my life. My days as a child were dedicated solely to living up to the expectations of not grandpa, but rather the people around. Grandpa would often take me aside and gently tell me to be own person but as a child, the looks of disappointment and, worse of all, pity ('Poor boy did not seem to inherit his grandfather's genes, huh') drove me to pursue excellence above all else._

_As I grew up, however, I got tired of pandering to the expectations of the people around. No matter what I did, I would still just be 'Professor Oak's grandson', not that is a bad thing mind you. It was great to be your grandson, old man. Anyway, I wanted to get out of my grandfather's shadow. I wanted to be my own person; Not 'Professor Oak's grandson' but rather Gary Oak. I wanted to be so great that my grandfather's crowning achievement would be raising me and _he_ would be the one referred to as 'Gary Oak's grandfather'. _

_I did manage to achieve the former but I guess the latter was just too impossible, or possibly still in the works. Who knows, eh? I still have decades ahead of me, after all._

_So, I began my own journey as a Pokémon Trainer at the earliest age that my grandpa would allow me to (16, after I had aced every possible test that he could throw at me. He was a little too overprotective sometimes) and then, forgive the slight hubris, _stormed_ through the Gyms._

_The first few victories were, as per usual, credited to me being 'Professor Oak's grandson' but after some time, people began to take notice of me as a person and then I finally made it after that titanic clash with Team Rocket in Saffron City. People were finally talking about 'Gary Oak' instead of 'Professor Oak's grandson.'_

_However, that was not to last. I suppose I was simply destined to be overshadowed. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about at this point._

_Red; the idiot who came up with my nickname of Blue. Red; the maverick who always did things differently from other people and treated me as just another boy for him to trample on his 'quest to greatness'. Red; the Champion whose shadow I would be in, and probably still is in, for the rest of my life._

_It was a strange rivalry that the two of us had. Me; the 'illustrious' and 'prodigious' 'grandson of Professor Oak' while Red was just a 'no name orphan' that had 'delusions of grandeur'._

_I aware of Red doggedly chasing my back while I was on my own journey and although I never told him that, Red's sheer existence was enough of a motivation to make me push myself beyond my limits. The feats that he accomplished were incredible as well, ranging from his conquest of Viridian Forest to his defeat of the Pewter Gym's Ancient._

_And then, before I realised it, he had caught up to me and was my equal. He never stopped there though. That's the thing about Red. He never stops. It's never enough. There was always something for him to chase. I did not know him well enough to understand his drive then and so it, frankly speaking, scared me. _

_And so, he surpassed me, leaving me with the record of shortest reign as a Champion, _ever_, and current Gym Leader of the Viridian Gym._

_For all the other people that feel overshadowed by their peers or forefathers, this is for you. I competed against the two most famous people in the world and I hope this helps._

_-_Rising to the challenge by Gary Oak, Foreword.

* * *

"Hey, come over here for a moment. I have something to show you." Red said as he patted the empty space beside him on the bed.

The Pikachu looked up from its customary spot in front of the television curiously before it obligingly scurried over to sit beside Red, the teenager's hat perched sloppily on the Pokémon's head.

After the death match with the Poochyenas, Red and the Pikachu had become fast friends. It was hard not to become friends when they had already known (a nice way of saying 'fought to the death against') each other for a month and had just trusted the other party with their lives in a fight against a horde of wild Pokémon.

Because of their budding friendship and because of the injuries that the Pikachu had sustained, the wild Pokémon had elected to stay with Red in his apartment, with the condition that the Pikachu would try its best to be as quiet as possible. After all, the Pikachu was still technically a wild Pokémon and his landlord would kick him out of the apartment without a second's hesitation if he caught wind of the Electric-Type's existence.

In its brief time in civilisation, the Pikachu had developed a fascination with television programmes (after Red had gotten into another fierce battle with the wild Pokémon to prevent it from destroying the television out of shock), and had gotten cheeky enough to steal Red's cap from him after it learnt how much Red treasured the cap.

Truth be told, though, Red had no idea how much of it was cheekiness and how much of it was the Pikachu testing the waters with Red. He had read about this, after all. Wild Pokémon that were caught or domesticated often struggled to deal with their insecurities due to the new environment that they were thrown in. As a result, they often tested the waters by pushing the lines with their owners, testing to see if their owners truly valued.

Even if Red did not possess this knowledge about Pokémon behaviours, he would have allowed the Pikachu to wear his cap anyway. After all, he did treasure it as one of the few things he had remember that man with, but what was a memory compared to the gratitude and friendship that he felt towards the Pikachu?

Anyway, the reason for him calling the Pikachu over today was simple. He figured that it was rather rude of him to keep calling the Pikachu by its species' name. After all, he would hate to be called 'human' every time should Pokémon suddenly gain the ability to communicate with humans.

_'Hey, boy.' 'Go away, freak.'_ Red shook his head to clear them of those unwanted memories. Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you, after all. He hated to apply double standards.

So, he had gone hunting through his books for a suitably epic name for the Pikachu and had found what he thought was the perfect one. However, in order for the Pikachu to accept it, he would suitably grand pictures. He had found after several days that the Pikachu was an _extremely_ egoistic Pokémon and would never settle for something that it found beneath it (which actually made Red feel very proud that the Pikachu had willingly chosen to stay with him).

"So, Pikachu." Red began as he tapped his fingers nervously on the hard cover of the book on his lap. _He_ thought that this was good idea but what if the Pikachu did not like it? That would be pretty bad, wouldn't it?

"So, um, anyway, I've been calling you Pikachu for quite some time now, haven't I?" Red said, stuttering a little as he ran his hand through his hair. The Pikachu simply cocked its head to the side, patiently waiting for his human to get to the point.

"Right, so, I don't that's very nice. After all, I would hate for people to call me by my species. So, I was thinking of giving you a nickname. Here." Red began to flip through the book until he arrived at the picture of a muscle-bound man wielding a gigantic hammer that was crackling with electricity and then another picture beside of it of the hammer smiting what seemed to be evil people and practically disintegrating it.

"That's the hammer Mjollnir, weapon of the thunder God Thor. After watching you blast those Poochyenas into oblivion and beyond with that lightning strike, I could not help but think that this fit you perfectly; Mjollnir, Hammer of the Thunder God. What do you think of Mjollnir as a nickname, hmm?"

The Pikachu stared at the picture intently, scrunching its face in thought and then, just when Red was beginning to worry that the Pikachu did not like its nickname, the Pikachu looked up at him, nodded, and then smiled a vicious smile as it mimed bringing its hand down on some unfortunate fool that had dared to offend it.

Red sighed in relief before he smiled in amusement. Trust the Pikachu to enjoy having such a violent nickname.

"Alright, Mjollnir." saying his Pokémon's nickname for the first time just made him feel so...content.

"That was basically all that I wanted to ask you for now." Red then looked at the time. It was a little early before he was supposed to meet Professor Oak for the mission briefing but since he had nothing to do anyway, he supposed he might as well arrive early.

"I'll be heading to Professor Oak's lab now. You can return to watching television if you want. Food's in the usual cupboard." Mjollnir made a disgusted face at the thought of the dried and tough food.

"Yes, I know it's not very good but we'll just have to make do for now, alright? We'll get better when we have the time to go out to Route 1 again. I'll be back after the briefing. See you later."

Mjollnir patted his knee lightly as a good bye and then sprinted to its customary spot where it proceeded to subject itself to the hypnotic trances of the television. Red simply sighed and shook his head. Trust his luck to have such an eccentric Pokémon as his friend.

* * *

"I asked for a Dragon, not...this!" a male teenager shouted. Red simply rolled his eyes and shared an exasperated look with one of the Professor's aides. All of them were used to one of the Professor's grandson's infamous temper tantrums by now.

Red peered around the door and immediately ducked back, stuffing his hand into his mouth to try to contain his giggling. Blue had been pestering his grandfather for ages now to get him a special Pokémon for a starter Pokémon and it seemed like the Professor had finally capitulated. Unfortunately for Blue, what was given to him was far from what he had requested.

Red snuck another look, catching sight of the adorable little ball of fur pawing eagerly at her owner's pants, begging to be picked up. Douche that he was, Blue was still a very competent Trainer. He recognised that as a sign of the Pokémon wanting to bond with its Trainer and very reluctantly picked the brown Pokémon up with a disgruntled look on his face.

Red had to pinch himself to stop himself from laughing uproariously at the sight. 'Too cool for you' Blue carrying an Eevee in his hands. Oh if only he had one of those silent camera phones that just about everyone seemed to have. It would be priceless blackmail material; gold could not even begin to compare.

"Now now, Gary. You know as well as I do that Dragons, while powerful Pokémon, are extremely hard to tame and not very suitable for a new Trainer as a Starter Pokémon. Besides, Dragon-Types are rare and very hard to locate too."

"Oh don't give me that bullshit. Eevees are far rarer than any Dragon could be. If you could give me an Eevee, then you could definitely find a Dragon for me. You just don't think that I'm good enough. I never am." Blue sulked as he crossed his arms.

Of course, Blue was not his real name. What kind of insane parents would actually name their kid after a colour? It was just my nickname for him. His actual name was Gary Oak but Red had never called him by his real name before.

Their first meeting had been back when they were children, when the other children had mocked his strange eye colour and his attachment to his father's old cap by calling him 'Red'.

Blue, charismatic even when he was young, had gathered a few boys and taunted him when he was alone at the playground. It was a subtle political manoeuvre, where Blue planted himself firmly in the camp of 'I belong' and then, by actually leading them to taunt the outcast which they enjoyed doing, hinted to them 'follow me and it'll be fun'.

It was honestly nothing personal. He would have done it to anyone that was there, regardless of their status. He was, as Red would later learn, cold and cunning like that. Blue had taunted him with the usual things like his red eyes and how he was probably abandoned because of those abnormal eyes.

He had not been in the mood to just take the insults and had retaliated with some insults that he could no longer remember. What Red _could_ remember, however, was how Blue's face had become slightly blue with rage. That, combined with the blue shirt he was wearing that day and how his own nickname was Red had pushed him towards calling the boy Blue. The nickname stuck.

After that, a strange enmity/ rivalry was sparked between the two of them. They would compete in anything that they could compete at, regardless of how ridiculous it could be. They would compete to see who could eat the most in one sitting, who could swing the highest on the swing, who could run faster, who knew more about Pokémon, who could shout the loudest, who was the best at Pokémon battling (via online simulations, of course), who was the better thrower and many other competitions.

As a result, Red could honestly claim to be the one that knew Blue the best in the entire world. Not his sister, not Professor Oak, hell, not even Blue himself knew Blue as well as Red did. He supposed it was probably the same thing for Blue as well. Red inadvertently thought of Mjollnir and realised that he _really_ needed to stop making friends like that. From what he had observed, friends tended to start off being, well, friendly and it probably wasn't healthy to make someone that you wanted to strangle with your bare hands your friend.

Therefore, Red knew that the tantrum that Blue was throwing now, and all the tantrums that he had ever thrown, were an act. Most people saw the charismatic and good-natured boy that was Gary Oak and left it at that. Some people dug a little deeper, or were allowed to see, the immature spoilt brat that was the Professor's grandson. They put the two together and concluded that Gary Oak was just a spoilt brat acting nice in public, and pat themselves on the back for having discovered that and never dug any deeper.

But Red knew better. He knew of, and had seen with his own, the actual Blue; the cold and cunning boy that would stop at nothing to achieve what he wanted; the boy that was willing to use everyone around him until they had nothing left to give if it would allow him to get out of his grandfather's shadow.

The tantrum that Blue was currently throwing was therefore a farce. There was a reason for this. There was always a reason. Oh well. He would just wait and see how this played out. All would be revealed in due time. Besides, it was amusing to watch Blue cringe at the Eevee's overly affectionate displays.

"Gary, you know I don't mean to insult your abilities. I'm just worried about your safety. Training mishaps can happen even with the most experienced Trainers and having a Dragon multiplies that risk by a large degree."

Blue's eye glinted and Red knew that Professor Oak had just walked into a trap.

"If you were truly worried about my safety you would not have given me an Eevee of all possible Pokémon! Yes, I know that Eevees have remarkable potential due to the myriad ways that they can evolve but this is not a researching journey, grandpa. This is a Trainer journey!

You went on one yourself and you know very well how dangerous the wilds are. An Eevee's potential can only come into play with time, and that requires me to actually survive a large part of my journey.

Also, I'll have to go through Viridian Forest in order to get to Pewter and you know better than me what it's like in there and, more importantly, the kind of reports we have been getting recently from the Viridian Rangers. Can you really call giving me an Eevee safe?"

Professor Oak was obviously considering what his grandson had said and Red had to admit that Blue made a persuasive argument, although he had to frown at how underhanded Blue was being.

Eighteen years ago, after the Kanto-Johto war, Blue's father that was originally not a Trainer had been conscripted into being a trainer. Although considered a little old at the age of twenty-two, Blue's father was still physically fit and thus considered eligible. Professor Oak had been the one to give his own son his starter Pokémon, and, worried because of his son's inexperience, Professor Oak had given his son a more docile Pokémon to avoid training mishaps. Blue's father died in Viridian Forest when Blue was only four, and his mother had followed out of grief soon after.

It was a cruel thing to do, leveraging on Professor Oak's grief and guilt while acting as though he was just being innocently insensitive like a typical teenager when Blue had in fact planned for this to happen.

"Well, even if that is the case, there really isn't much that I can do. What would have me do?"

"I don't know. How about get a new Pokémon? I could keep the Eevee, I suppose. It seems to have bonded with me and it would be cruel to just toss it away now." Blue said as he shrugged and shuffled his feet.

Damn. He was good. Red could not help but admit that Blue was really, _really_ at social manipulation. First, he leads Professor Oak to the conclusion that he wants but pretends that he doesn't know anything and lets the Professor think that he came to the conclusion by himself. Then, he acts contrite and apologetic without being too obvious, coming across as a typical teenager who has realised that he is wrong but just doesn't want to admit it, and even willingly makes a 'concession' by pretending the Eevee is a burden when both teenagers knew that having an Eevee was an invaluable asset.

"A new Pokémon? But they would take too long to arrive and the only Pokémon around are...here in my lab..." Professor Oak trailed off thoughtfully.

"Hold on here for a moment, Blue. There just might be something for you though I don't know if you will actually accept it considering how picky you've been."

Professor Oak turned around to head into the sealed laboratory and, the moment his back was turned, Blue's eyes flashed with victory even as his lips curved up into a cold smirk. It was the look that Red recognised as Blue's 'Just as planned' face.

With that, Red was able to figure out the entirety of Blue's plan. The first step was to request for an outrageous Pokémon, which would likely be denied. After all, Professor Oak was soft but recognised that his grandson was spoilt and would therefore acquiesce, but play a little prank by giving him something else other than what Blue had asked for.

Blue, however, had anticipated that and therefore came in ready to act outraged and guilt-trip his grandfather into giving him another Pokémon. The only possible Pokémon that Professor Oak could give to Blue were those in the lab, which he had previously declared no interest in. Therefore, Blue gave Professor Oak a way to reason with himself that he was not giving Blue something that he really wanted anyway and therefore not spoiling Blue _as much_.

Because Blue knew that the first Pokémon would definitely be an exotic Pokémon and that the Pokémon in Professor Oak's lab were of exceptional quality and easy to train, his purpose was to obtain two good Pokémon and thus get a head start on other trainers. Of course, if his grandfather had actually given him a Dragon, all the better since Blue would be confident in his own abilities to handle any Pokémon given to him as a Starter, regardless of Type or species.

Professor Oak came out a moment with three Pokeballs in hand.

"These are all that I can allow you to pick from, Gary. The rest are for the rest of the starting trainers."

Blue nodded solemnly and then bent forward to scrutinise the Pokeballs before he arched his eyebrows and scoffed at the first one.

"Why did you even bother to bring Surtr out? You know as well as I do that the only Trainer he would be willing to follow is Red."

Professor Oak sighed as he shook his head, though there was a slight smile on his face for reasons that Red could not understand.

"I was afraid that Surtr would be left out of the picks once against because of his...disposition and since you were so confident in your abilities as a Trainer, I figured that you would be more than able to handle Surtr's bad temper. Besides, you know as well I do that Red will unfortunately not be given his Trainer license because he was not able to attend the courses."

Blue simply scoffed once more.

"You mean, not given it at the same time as the other Trainers. I know about your arrangement with the League to give Red an exception once he proves himself. I'll leave Surtr to him. He needs the boost anyway or he would never even come close to posing a challenge to him."

Blue went back and forth between the other two Pokeballs before he finally decided on one and attached it to the clasp on his belt while he returned the Eevee to its Pokeball.

"Thanks a lot for this, grandpa." Blue said while looking to the side, before he turned around and left.

"It was nothing, Gary. Take care."

Seeing that Blue was coming out of the room, Red quickly made his way to the entrance of the building, pretending that he had just entered and had therefore not eavesdropped on what was undoubtedly supposed to be a private conversation.

Their eyes met and then they continued to walk on, passing each other a word. Sometimes, one of them would throw an insult just for the sake it and it would quickly devolve into a quarrel. Today, however, the two of them acknowledged that things had changed. Blue was a Trainer now and Red would hopefully be one as well soon. The dynamics of their rivalry had changed. It was time to speak with their actions rather than their words.

* * *

"Ah! Nice to see you, Red. Right on time too." Professor Oak greeted Red genially when the teenager entered the room that Blue had just vacated. Red twiddled his fingers behind his back, slightly guilty that he had _not_ been on time and was actually early and had heard that little argument between the two family members. Of course, he could not say anything about that and so Red simply smiled awkwardly at the Professor in reply.

Thankfully for Red, the Professor missed overlooked Red's body language as he was busy bustling around the room gathering documents that Red assumed were pertinent to the briefing at hand, talking as he shuffled papers.

"I was actually surprised when I did not hear you coming in, Red. After all, Gary just left and I did not hear any explosions."

Red could not help but chuckle at that.

"Oh come on, Professor. It was just that one time." he protested while the Professor chuckled.

"Well, that one time was more than enough, hmm? Made for a rather memorable one time, it did." the old man said as he winked in Red's direction before he went back to riffling through his drawers.

This, amongst many other reasons, was why Red was so fond of Professor Oak. For someone that was respected and even feared worldwide, there was a humble and grandfatherly air around him and he strove to make people around him comfortable to the best of his abilities.

He never scolded anyone; merely admonished them and told them why he thought that what they had done was wrong. He never shouted at people for their wrongdoings, or even looked at them with disappointment. Instead, he looked at them with forgiveness in his hands and Red reckoned that that made the miscreants feel far guiltier than any amount of shouting could have achieved.

One such example was that 'one time' that the two of them had been talking about. It was a period of time where the rivalry between Red and Blue, hidden until now, had heated up to its peak and they strove to outdo each other in every way possible. One of their competitions in Professor Oak's lab had gotten too heated up and they ended up causing one of the Professor's expensive lab equipment to explode. The rivalry between the two children had then been revealed, much to the Professor's delight. He apparently found it extremely entertaining to watch the two children, and then teenagers go at each other's throat for reasons that only he would know.

"Ah ha! Found it! Now, that's the last of it. Red, come over here and take a look at these, would you?"

Red obligingly strode over and took the thick stack of reports into his hands, perusing them carefully and taking note of the photographs included in the reports. His face grew tighter with every passing report.

They painted a chilling tale of numerous people going missing in Viridian Forest; more than was usual, at least. However, since people dying or getting lost in an Untouchable was, unfortunately, common, people continued with their daily lives and treated the incidents as nothing to worry about.

Things escalated after that and soon, transports like the occasional bus that went through Viridian Forest were being attacked, with all the passengers within mysteriously vanishing into thin air. People began to panic then and started to blockade all entry into Viridian Forest until the proper authorities (AKA Professor Oak) figured out what the hell was going on and came down to solve things.

And then, things got worse. A lot worse. Red stared in disbelief at the report sent by the Viridian Ranger Outpost, stating that the outpost had been attacked by a swarm of wild Pokémon and had suffered major casualties and were worried that they would not be able to hold off another assault.

Red paled at the implications. The Viridian Ranger Outpost was the only thing keeping the denizens of Viridian Forest from pouring out into civilisation and wiping Viridian City off the map. If they were not confident of holding back another assault...

"Why hasn't the League moved yet? There are two League Gyms right beside the Forest! This should be easy for them to handle!" Red all but shouted at the Professor, gripping the piece of tightly in his hands. After the Pokémon were done with Viridian Forest, the logical step for them to take next would be to move on to Pallet Town. There might be no lack of love lost between Red and the townspeople but he did not want them to _die._

Professor Oak grimaced at the question, fully understanding what the teenager was thinking and empathising with him.

"The Viridian Gym Leader has vanished and the Gym has been shut down. In the meantime, because the Trainer Licensing is just around the corner, the League is preventing the Pewter Gym from moving until the annual event is done as they fear that Trainers will revoke their licenses if they know how serious the situation in Viridian Forest is.

Red halted for a moment as a terrifying thought struck his mind. The annual event where the Elite Four came down from Indigo Plateau to talk to the new Trainers at the League HQ was just a few days away. The League HQ was at the end of Route 22, which was close to Viridian City and thus Viridian Forest...

"They intend to use the new Trainers as bait and fodder so that the experienced Trainers will not suffer casualties, thus retaining our military strength." Red stated blandly, causing the Professor to nod grimly.

"God damn this bloody mess and that shitty League!" Red cursed.

He would normally be mindful of his language around the Professor, as his respect for the venerable old man caused him to want to retain an image of a respectable young man in front of the Professor.

Wait. Why was the Professor even telling him this?

"There's something you want me to do. My mission has something to do with this." Red guessed shrewdly. After all, this was highly classified information that was on a need to know basis. No matter how much the Professor liked him, he would not have blatantly flouted the rules for absolutely no reason. Therefore, Red had, or was going to have, something to do with this situation. He knew that he was called here for a mission briefing. Putting two and two together, he was called here to do something related to the situation in the Forest. He might not be the genius that Blue was but Red was pretty smart as well.

The Professor nodded approvingly and then pointed at the pictures and report of the abandoned buses and the scene of carnage in the Ranger Outpost.

"What do you think is the cause of that?"

Red scrutinised the pictures carefully, with several things catching his attention. Firstly there were the puncture holes in the roof the bus. Then he noted how the way the glass shards of the shattered windows looked as though the window had been shattered by a strong force concentrated in one point coming from (naturally) the outside. After that were the shattered swords and knives scattered around, and the bullet casings accompanied by what seemed to be green blood, or, more accurately, hemolymph painting the walls. The teenager tallied that up with the Pokémon that he knew to be native to Viridian Forest along with the reports and came up with one conclusion.

"Beedrills." Red said grimly as he pressed a palm to forehead. Of all things, it had to be a Beedrill swarm.

The Professor smiled proudly at what could be counted as his protégé and Red could not help but feel warm inside. Any kind of praise by the person that he looked up to the most in the world was always welcome.

"Yes. Beedrills. Something is causing them to act abnormally and I want you to figure out what. The aim is for you to investigate what is causing these Beedrills to run amok and, if possible, get rid of the problem. At the same time, you will be thinning out the Beedrill population either by capture or killing them. Naturally, capture would be preferable as I would like the chance to research them. All equipment and a Pokémon will be provided to you. The mission duration is to be two weeks. if you cannot accomplish your mission in that allotted time, pull back and I will think of another method to deal with the problem. Questions?"

Red had perked up at the mention of the word 'Pokémon'. This was not the first time that he had done a mission for the Professor that required the use of a Pokémon so he was not asking about the 'why', but rather the 'what'.

"Pokémon?"

Professor Oak simply chuckled.

"Surtr, of course. I know that you have been missing him."

Red had to admit that he had indeed been missing the Charmander for a long time now. He had not been able to see the Charmander as he had been busy for a long time and whenever he was free, the Pokémon was either resting or slated to do something else other than play. Before he worried about Surtr, though, he had other things to ask about.

"Will this be a solo mission and if so, why me?"

"Yes it will be a solo mission. As you know, the Pokémon in Viridian Forest are highly territorial and sensitive to changes in their habitat. Sending a large group of people in will almost definitely alert the Pokémon in Viridian which would result in their untimely deaths as nothing bar an army could possibly withstand the assault.

However, since we do _not_ want the League to send hapless Trainers to their death, I have to do something first. By telling the League that I am already on the case, the League will hopefully stall their plan of sending the new Trainers in. Since a large group is impossible, the only alternative is to send one person.

As for why I chose you and not someone else, or even go myself...

I am old now, Red, and such a mission would take a great toll on me. I also have many other responsibilities to handle. You, on the other hand, I trust explicitly.

I am confident that you will complete this mission."

Red had not been expecting that vote of absolute trust and confidence. Words failed him as he choked up and had to blink rapidly to keep himself from tearing up. It would be so unmanly and unsightly if he bawled like a baby in front of the Professor. Therefore, he jerked his head quickly in a gesture of thanks and acknowledgement and collected the equipment that he would need in silence.

When he was done, Red stepped out of the room and gave himself a moment to collect himself before he released the Pokémon contained in the Pokeball held in his hand and smiled at the sight of the Pokémon that materialised in front of him.

Surtr was apparently equally glad to see his favourite and leapt into his arms with an exuberant cry which Red responded to by hugging the black Charmander and laughing out loud.

"Hey there, boy. Nice to see you too. Sorry I have not been over for so long. The both of us had the worst schedule ever, I swear."

Red then held the Charmander out at arm's length and looked him over.

"Man, you sure have grown since we first met, huh?" the teenager commented, obtaining a pleased grin from the Pokémon that he was holding.

The first time that Red laid eyes on Surtr, the black Charmander was busy rampaging amongst the buildings blocks that the Pokémon in Professor Oak's labs played with, tearing apart whatever they had built and then burning everything that he laid eyes on.

Red had jokingly compared the Charmander to Surtr; the legendary Fire Giant who was prophesised to set the world on fire and burn it down, due to the Charmander's destructive tendencies. Everyone had found the nickname extremely fitting and the nickname had stuck, just like all of Red's other nicknames. He reckoned that he was pretty good at giving nicknames.

Red realised why the Charmander was so violent and rebellious after that incident.

Born discoloured, Surtr had been shunned by the other Charmanders in the lab and the other Pokémon had soon followed suit, either leaving him alone or taunting him in groups. Trainers that came by to pick their Pokémon always passed over Surtr, dismissing him as a 'defective Pokémon'. The only humans that ever paid attention to him were the Lab aides who were there solely to research and Professor Oak, who was just one human that was extremely busy and could not afford to dedicate time to only one Pokémon. As a result, the Charmander turned resentful and rebellious, often expressing his anger in violent tantrums, which only served to alienate him and led to a vicious cycle.

Red saw himself in the Charmander. How could he not, when Surtr practically mirrored his life? Professor Oak had come to his help then when he was at his lowest. He decided that it was his turn to help someone else out, regardless of species.

He started to spend time near Surtr, not saying anything or doing anything but just staying close by, ready to help the Charmander if he needed anything. Red wanted to prove to Surtr that he was willing to dedicate time just to be in Surtr's company, and gain the Charmander's trust before he moved on to the next step. He knew very well how distrustful people like them would be of strangers that suddenly appeared in front of them wanting to befriend them.

Perhaps Red's methods were effective, or perhaps Surtr sensed a kindred spirit in the human. Either way, the Charmander opened up to the human quickly and the two became fast friends, playing together whenever Red had some free time at the lab and the Charmander was not going through one of its scheduled exercises.

Surtr was eventually deemed fit for battle without guidance and Red was deemed fit to on more dangerous missions where combat was highly possible. Having observed the close ties that the Charmander and his protégé had, Professor Oak paired the two together whenever he could, which only served to make the two even closer.

The growing strain in Red's arms snapped him out of his reminiscing and he put the Charmander down on the floor, though not without a jab.

"Man, you're getting heavier. I think you're getting fatter from not enough exercise." Red teased, receiving a growl and a playful swipe from the Charmander in reply.

"Alright, alright. I was just kidding!" Red laughed as he fended off his friend's attacks.

"Anyway, we'll be heading to my apartment first to pack all of this-" Red gestured at the large backpack that he was carrying. "and then we'll have a good night's sleep under a roof before we have head out tomorrow. Do you want to go back into your Pokeball or do you want to walk with me?"

Surtr thought for a moment before he pointed at the Pokeball and shook his head, indicating that he did not want to return to his Pokeball and preferred to walk with Red. Red smiled, pleased with the Pokémon's choice. After all, even though they could not understand each other very well, they still chattered to each other anyway and it was quite fun doing that; kind of like what he was doing with Mjollnir nowadays.

The two of them walked out of the lab and promptly stopped as Red tried to digest the scene before him.

A group of cameramen and a reporter were gathered outside the lab, with their backs towards them while an extremely familiar teenager was standing in front of them, talking to them while facing the camera.

"So, Mr. Oak- would it be alright for us to call you Mr. Oak?"

"Oh no, please don't. That makes me sound so old and I don't think I have gotten enough experience to be called a mister yet. Please, just call me Gary. Everyone does." Blue said as he flashed a smile at the reporter.

Red had seen the reporters setting up outside when he entered the lab but had ignored them. After working in the lab for almost four years now, Red was used to the sight of reporters due to how popular and acknowledged the Professor was along with how many discoveries the man could make in a year. He literally discovered more about Pokémon in a single year than most other professors did in a year. Therefore, he had assumed that the reporters were here to interview the Professor on another discovery and put them out of his mind.

He had not expected for them to be interviewing Blue.

Red clenched his fists tightly as the familiar flame of jealousy burned within him. It was Blue who still had a family. It was Blue who was born a genius. It was Blue who never had anything to worry about. It was Blue who could afford to attend all the Trainer courses. It was Blue who would be getting his Trainer License. It was Blue who had been given a rare Eevee as a Starter Pokémon. It was Blue who was getting interviewed. It was always Blue, Blue Blue. Why did that douche have to have _everything_ while he had _nothing_?

Surtr, apparently having felt his distress, tugged at his shirt gently, snapping him out of his negative thoughts. He thought he had gotten over it but this episode proved that he had not. He slapped his cheeks lightly. There was no point in constant moaning. Crying never solved anything. He knew that well. The only way was to just keep moving forward.

"Thanks, Surtr. I'm alright now." Red said softly in response to the Charmander's concerned look.

"Unfortunately, it seems like we'll be delayed for a little while."

After all, even if he had gotten over his little hissy fit, it would still be incredibly awkward to cross the cameras and disturb the filming. Did those reporters not have a shred of common sense in them? There _were_ other people in the labs other than the Oaks and the way the cameras were set up, there was no way that could go pass them.

It seemed like he had to resign to waiting until the interview was over.

* * *

While he had been occupied by his own thoughts, the interview had gone on, with the reporter rapidly firing off questions while Blue calmly answered every question that came his way with poise. Red had to grudgingly admit that if it was him out there, he would never be able to do as well as Blue.

"Surveys have shown that much of the younger generation feel that the annual talk by the Elite Four to new Trainers is superfluous and a waste of time. What do you think of it? Also, will you be attending the gathering?"

"Well of course I will be attending the gathering. Yes, attending the talk will be taking time off the journey and I can understand how my peers feel. After all, we have been waiting for the moment to start our journey for our entire lives and now that it is so close, waiting another three days can seem so painful.

However, I feel that we should look at it from a different point of view. How often will we get to see the Elite Four in person, and have them dispense advice to kick-start our journeys? The time lost would be, in my humble opinion, time well spent.

In addition, this has been a tradition for generations. Who am I to go against traditions?"

"Oh there is no need for such humbleness, Gary. With the insight beyond your years that you have shown, I am sure that you will achieve great things.

Speaking of great things and journeys, what do you intend to accomplish with your journey? Your grandfather, Professor Oak is a well-known researcher. Are you going to follow in his footsteps?"

Red was the only noticed it, being the only one on the scene that was not enamoured with the wonderful Gary Oak who farted rainbows out of his ass. When the reporter had mentioned his grandfather, Blue's face had darkened slightly, although it quickly returned to the mask that he used in public.

"Well, that is something to consider in the future. The life of a research is tough and I want to enjoy my youth a little bit more first!" Gary laughed, with the reporter laughing along with his comment.

"As for what I want to achieve now, I intend to become the Trainer that I can and that will involve challenging the Gyms."

"A worthy goal, that is! I see you are taking after your grandfather in a different way, hmm?

For those of our viewers in the dark, Professor Samuel Oak was once known as Champion Samuel Oak after defeating all the Kanto Gym Leaders and then moving on to the Pokémon League where he emerged as the winner and earned the rights to challenge the Elite Four and current Champion where he then became the Champion of Kanto!

Will you be doing the same thing, Gary?"

To the astonishment of everyone present, and probably everyone watching the interview, Blue answered with a resounding 'no'.

"No, I will not be doing the same thing. I intend to conquer the entire route."

If the reporters had been surprised before, they were now utterly shocked, with Red grinning in the shadows. He was the only one that knew of Blue's lofty goal. After all, he shared the very same goal. The 'entire route' meant challenging and defeating all sixteen Gyms in Kanto and Johto combined. Anyone who managed to accomplish this earned the right to challenge the Elite Four directly without having to compete in the Pokémon League Tournament. The reason why the reporters were so shocked was because _nobody_ had ever completed the entire route. Red and Blue fully intended to be the first ones.

The reporter, however, obviously thought that Blue was just another pampered brat that was growing too big for his boots and wanted to end the interview as quickly as possible.

"An admirable dream, that is. Youths should indeed aim high. What else is youth for, right?

So, Gary. Do you have any words for your peers or competitors that will soon begin their journey as well?"

Here, Blue actually smirked as he looked up and stared at Red, although to the cameras it probably looked like he was staring off into the distance.

"I will see you at the top in a year."

Red simply smirked back as Blue declared his intentions to blow any records set out of the way. The current record was held by Professor Samuel Oak who had conquered the Kanto route and become Champion in two years. Blue intended to achieve twice of what he did in half the time.

Red was then reminded of the declaration that two children had made so many years ago.

_'I will become so great that grandpa will be remembered for being my grandfather and nothing else!'_

_'I will be the very best, like no one ever was!'_

* * *

The entire interview took almost an hour to finish and by the time the duo reached Red's apartment block, it was already late noon. Thankfully, Red had already decided to head out the next day and not today or he would have to sleep out in the wilds tonight instead of under a roof. After his encounter with the Poochyena horde, Red was not very enthusiastic about spending a night out in the wilds again.

The two continued chatting even as they arrived at Red's apartment with nothing out of the ordinary happening until Red opened the door. Surtr sniffed surreptitiously as the door opened and then, to Red's shock, tore through the small opening with a loud roar that was replied by a shrill war cry.

Red palmed his face. Throughout the entire walk home, he utterly forgot about informing Surtr of Mjollnir's existence. With how protective the Charmander was of Red, Red was not surprised that the Charmander immediately went into assault when he smelt a strange Pokémon in Red's apartment. As for Mjollnir, the Pikachu was not one to take an attack lying down. The Electric-Type would definitely retaliate and attempt to put down anyone attacking it with extreme prejudice.

Red dashed into his apartment and was greeted with the sight of the two Pokémon attempting to tear each other to shreds but were mainly succeeding in demolishing his apartment.

"Wait! Stop this, you two!" Red shouted but was ignored by the two Pokémon that were busy focusing on their own battle.

A normal Trainer might have given it up as a lost cause and retreated to safety to wait it out. After all, a human going up against two rampaging Pokémon was suicidal. A normal person might have simply fainted on the spot or run screaming out of the room as fast as they could.

Red, however, had never been, and probably would never be, considered normal by any definition.

He sprinted into the room, dropping into a slide in order to avoid a gout of flame that just barely went over his head. his slide ended pretty close to Surtr and Red immediately took the opportunity to snap his leg up, kicking the Charmander in the fact and punting it across the room.

The teenager then flung his wallet at the Pikachu, stunning the electric rodent for a few crucial seconds where he dove forward and grabbed Mjollnir. With as much speed as he could muster, Red flipped the Pikachu upside down and then smashed it on the ground headfirst, probably giving the Pokémon a concussion in the process.

"THE TWO OF YOU SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!" Red shouted in the most authoritative voice that he could muster.

The two Pokémon that were about to get up and continue their fight immediately sat down and shut up, staring at the human with wide eyes.

"Good. Now, Mjollnir, this is Surtr. He's a friend. Surtr, this is Mjollnir, he's a friend. Please try to get along or I will be forced to kick the two of you around some more."

Red then inspected his apartment for damages and was pleased to note that other than a few burn marks on the walls and floor that could be covered up, there wasn't too much damage done to the room.

Now that the two Pokémon were no longer at each other's throats, Red informed the two Pokémon of the mission that they were going to be undertaking (Well, Surtr was going to be undertaking while Mjollnir was going to choose). Throughout the impromptu briefing, Red noticed that Mjollnir had an uncomfortable look on his face whenever Red mentioned Viridian Forest which made the human suspect that the Pikachu had not left his home on the best of terms.

Red sighed internally. He had been hoping that Mjollnir would join him on this mission, making it a lot easier to complete. Judging by Mjollnir's facial expression and body language, he highly doubted that the Pikachu would consent to tagging along but he figured that there was no harm in asking, right?

When he was done talking, Red took a Pokeball out of the backpack (Professor Oak had given him _tons_ and taking just one wouldn't matter that much, right?) and placed it on the ground in front of the Pikachu who was now staring at it curiously.

"So, um, well, that's the end of the mission details. You now know what the mission is about. Anyway, since we seem to betting along quite well, and I'm probably going to be a Trainer after this mission, I was hoping that you would consent to being part of my part. Of course, I understand if you don't want to. No hard feelings and I-"

Whatever Red was going to say in his ramble was cut off when Mjollnir shut the human with a small zap of electricity as it gave the human the stink eye. Red felt his heart sink only for his mind to be thrown into confusion when the Pikachu immediately placed its paws on the Pokeball's button after that and was sucked into the Pokeball.

Red quickly released the Pikachu from the Pokeball and stared at him in confusion, opening his mouth to ask a question and then quickly snapped it shut when Mjollnir shot him a look that he knew now to interpret as 'stop being such an idiot'.

"Welcome to the team, Mjollnir." Red said as he smiled wider than he ever had in his entire life.

* * *

The next day, Red finished up the last of his packing. Since Mjollnir had agreed to join his and was now 'his' Pokémon, Red decided to pack up all of his Technical Machines (TM) as well. Since the TMs were all in the shape of a disc, packing them up was easy since all he needed to do was slot the discs into a TM case and then place that case into his backpack. After all, despite the urgency of the mission, the possibility of downtime existed and he wanted to maximise the time by teaching Mjollnir a TM Move and then get the Pikachu accustomed to it. Only idiots taught their Pokémon a TM Move and then left their Pokémon alone, expecting the Pokémon to miraculously know the intricacies of the move and all possible usages without any guidance.

With his preparations done, Red set out for Viridian City through Route 1. His aim was to cross Route 1 in a day and get to Viridian City as soon as possible so that he could mooch off food and lodging in the Pokémon Centre. With the authorisation papers that Professor Oak had provided him, Red would be afford the same privileges as a Trainer; free lodging and food along with Pokémon healing in the Pokémon Centre whenever he requested for it. Of course, the fare and rooms provided were basic but they were definitely at least on par with Red's sub-par daily life or better. Red was betting on them being better. It was hard to be worse.

The trio made quick time through Route 1, with only a few suicidal brave wild Pokémon daring to attack them. Those wild Pokémon became their lunch for the day. Red postulated that the reason why they had not been harassed by the wild Pokémon much was because he had terrorised the Pokémon on Route 1 with Mjollnir and Surtr on separate occasions enough for the wildlife to know to stay _clear_ from the trio if they wanted to continue living.

* * *

Red made it to Viridian City well before night. In fact, he reached the city in record time, arriving before dusk had even set. That posed a strange problem to Red; he had nothing to do to. Despite being large, Viridian City was a sleepy city where the residents led very idyllic lives without much entertainment present in the city. The Mart was horribly small compared to those of other cities and the arcades that would interest a teenager like him were all outdated. Red would normally spend time at the Viridian Gym, critically observing the Trainers and their training methods but since the Gym closed now, he could not do that either.

He knew Route 1 like the back of his hand now and it would be boring trying to explore it. Perhaps he should venture out to Route 22? With the Trainer Registrations just around the corner, Red was willing to bet that that he could find more than a few Trainers on the Route. With luck, he would be able to catch several Trainers battling. If not, he could always find some wild Pokémon to torch/fry to work on Mjollnir and Surtr's teamwork.

* * *

He heard the sound of battle almost the moment that he 'officially' stepped into Route 22. Curious, Red hastened his steps to see a familiar figure finishing a battle. The unconscious Pokémon dissolved into red light before Red was able to catch a good look at it and was sucked into the Pokeball that Blue had thrown. In the meantime, the Squirtle that was battling waddled over to its trainer side where Blue patted its head absent-mindedly, his attention focused on Red. Red was extremely amused to find the Eevee curled up around Blue's neck, acting like an extremely adorable and fluffy scarf.

Blue's eyes glanced over Red's Pokémon, nodding absently at the presence of Surtr although his eyebrows rose dramatically at the sight Mjollnir.

"You're done with Viridian Forest already?!" Blue exclaimed. After all, the nearest location that one could find a Pikachu was in Viridian Forest. Blue knew that his grandfather was going to send Red to Viridian Forest to sort out the mess there. Since he believed that there was no way someone that he acknowledged as his rival and therefore his near equal could possibly fail at a mission, the conclusion that he came to was that Red had somehow accomplished in one day what was supposed to take at least two weeks.

"Nope. It's...uh...complicated." Red replied weakly, although he was surprised at Blue's words of choice. It was strangely heartening to know that Blue held him in such high regard.

"Huh...is that so?" Blue wondered, his brain doubtlessly trying to crack the mystery that was Mjollnir's existence. He abandoned that train of thought in pursuit of something that he found far more interesting.

"Red. The both of us have actual Pokémon now. There is no longer any need to resort to online simulation battles. What say we go at it? I have been waiting to show you your place for a long time now." Blue smirked.

Red knew that he was not supposed to battle, since he was on a mission and Surtr was technically not even his Pokémon. However, his blood was heating up and the urge to battle was impossible to suppress. A smirk that mirrored Blue's appeared on his face.

"Stealing my lines again, Blue?" Red retorted as the both of them returned their Pokémon to their Pokeballs.

"Just for technicality's sake, I'll state the rules of this battle." Blue announced which Red replied to with a nod.

Since Blue was an actual Trainer with a License while Red wasn't, Red was not even supposed to be battle. Therefore, should they be caught battling, Blue would admit upfront that he had been the one to start the battle and use his clout as Professor Oak's grandson to get away with a slap on the wrist.

"Since you only have two Pokémon on you, this will be a two-on-two battle. No items are to be used. Trainers are not to participate in the battle except to issue commands and to switch their Pokémon out. Trainers are not to be targeted by attacks. On the issue of switching, unless a Pokémon has been knocked unconscious, the time lapse allowed for the next Pokémon to appear on the field after a Pokémon has been switch out is five seconds, and the Pokémon that is switched is be within five metres of the Pokémon that was switch out, per the League rules. If the time lapse allowed is exceeded, the Pokémon that was switched out is disqualified and counted as unconscious. In addition, only one Pokémon from each Trainer is allowed to be on the battlefield at any point of time. The Trainer automatically loses if both Pokémon are on the battlefield together, even if for an instant. The battle will end either when all of a Trainer's Pokémon are unable to battle or when a Trainer concedes."

Blue then looked around him for a moment before he found a rock that he deemed suitable and placed it into his hand.

"This rock will be thrown into the air on the count of three and the battle will begin when the rock lands on the floor. One. Two. Three."

The rock soared into the air and Red had a precious few seconds to plan his strategy.

Both teenagers knew the Pokémon that the other party had. On Red's side, he had Surtr which was weak to the Squirtle, which was in turn weak to Mjollnir. Mjollnir, on the other, shared no such weakness and neither did Blue's Eevee. Going by conventional wisdom, Red would thus send out Mjollnir while Blue would send out his Eevee.

However, the kicker was this. He knew that Blue's best choice was his Eevee and his own was Mjollnir, and Blue knew that, and knew that he knew that and so it went on and on and on.

They key was to therefore accurately predict what Blue would send out, and then counter that, while keeping in mind the possible counters that Blue would employ.

The rock hit the ground.

Ironically, the rivals had chosen to throw their Pokeballs in the exact same manner; behind the enemy's position with the opening of the Pokeball facing what was supposed to be the enemy's back.

The conventional way of throwing a Pokeball involved throwing it right in front of the Trainer as a way to use the Pokémon as a shield while ensuring that the thrown Pokeball would bounce back to its Trainer's hand. There was also the added bonus of it being to throw and one would suffer the mishap of the Pokeball's opening facing the wrong direction.

Red and Blue would never deign to rely on such basics. They had drilled themselves for years to be able to throw a Pokeball perfectly in preparation for when they became trainers. They made sure that they could throw a Pokeball such that it faced in any direction that they wanted while having it bounce back to their hands after they were done.

This precision would allow them to take other Trainers and their Pokémon by surprise when their enemy did not appear in front as they would have expected and instead struck from an unorthodox angle.

Since this was meant to be their trump card, both teenagers had not let on to the other party that they possessed such a skill, which is why they attempted the exact same manoeuvre on each other, resulting in a mirror match.

Despite the brief surprise, the commands were still the same.

"Smokescreen!"

"Water Gun!"

The moment Surtr emerged from his Pokeball, inky black smoke billowed from his mouth and covered the battlefield almost instantly. With its vision rendered null and void, the Squirtle's Water Gun missed its target completely, giving Surtr an opportunity to close in; an opportunity that Red was not going to waste.

"Scratch!"

Although the Smokescreen affected the Charmander's sight as well, by tracking the trajectory of the Water Gun that the Water-Type had fired, Surtr would be able to find its target easily. Since Fire-Type attacks were not as effective on Water Pokémon, a neutral attack would probably do more process.

"Withdraw!"

Withdraw was a move where Pokémon that possessed some sort of shell hid within their shells, protecting them from physical attacks. The downside to this was that the next attacks would take a longer time to initiate as the Pokémon needed to spend time to get out of its shell first.

Red grinned. The pieces were falling into place. The moment Blue commanded his Pokémon to use Withdraw, he had switched Surtr out for Mjollnir who knew what he had to do without Red's command.

Electricity arced out from the Pikachu, lancing towards the Squirtle's position and hitting-nothing?

Mjollnir was just as confused as Red was and then, in the midst of their confusion, stars spiralled out from within the smokescreen and slammed into Mjollnir with such great force that the Pikachu was plastered on a nearby tree.

The smoke cleared then and Red gritted his teeth at the insufferable smug look on his rival's face. Blue had read his moves perfectly. His command for Squirtle was probably a cover to disguise him switching his Pokémon out so that his Eevee could ambush Mjollnir.

From how hard his Pikachu had been hit by that Swift, Red guessed that Blue's Eevee possessed the Adaptability ability, which increased the damage of Same-Type Attack Bonus; colloquially known as STAB, it was a term used by Trainers to define the added damage that a Pokémon dealt when it used moves that were of the same Type as the user. For example, Mjollnir using Thundershock would be considered a STAB attack.

Blue flung his arm out, with his finger pointing imperiously at the fallen Pikachu. The Eevee immediately took off like a bullet, aiming to stun the Pikachu with a Tackle and then finish off the Electric-Type with a Swift at point-blank range.

That plan, however, hinged on Mjollnir not being able to react in time. Blue was guessing that Mjollnir was much frailer than other Pokémon due to its small size; which was true. However, what Blue did not know was that Mjollnir's pain threshold was much higher than the average Pokémon's due to the brutal death matches that it had fought against Red. A Swift was nothing compared to being gutted by a knife three times in a row.

When the Eevee drew close, Mjollnir turned around and, making full of its elongated tail, struck the approaching enemy with a Tail Whip. It only served as a minor deterrent distraction; but that was all that Mjollnir. His main aim was to have physical contact with his tail, after all. The Pikachu let out a vicious shock as it pumped the Eevee full of electricity, causing the Normal-Type to freeze, before it collapsed onto the ground, convulsing and twitching thanks to Mjollnir's Thunder Wave.

With his opponent now helpless before him, Mjollnir gathered up the electrical energy for a finishing blow but just before he was about to strike, the Eevee vanished in a burst of red light. Knowing that a new enemy was on the battlefield, the Pikachu immediately turned around but he was too late.

The Electric rodent turned around only to be greeted with a jet of highly pressured water that sent him crashing into the tree once more. Before either Pokémon or Trainer could react, the Squirtle had already dashed forward with surprising speed, propelling itself forward before it Withdrew into its shell, causing the extremely hard shell to collide with the Pikachu at high speeds.

Mjollnir was never a very tough Pokémon to begin with. The numerous attacks that he had suffered took their toll and the Pikachu was knocked unconscious.

Red grimaced as he returned Mjollnir to his Pokeball. He was definitely at a disadvantage now. Not counting numbers, he was pitting a Fire-Type against a Water-Type. Things would not end well for him.

He had a few more seconds to think before he released Surtr out. What should he do to even the odds? The Smokescreen trick would not work. It had not worked the first time and it would definitely not work now. He had to try something different; something that Blue would not expect.

"Ember!" he called out and the Charmander responded obediently, searing flames pouring from his mouth.

"Hah! What is this, Red? Are you getting desperate now?" Blue taunted while his Squirtle naturally responded with a Water Gun.

The two attacks were at a stand-off for a brief moment before the Water Gun naturally began to overpower the Charmander's Ember. Surtr fought valiantly though, forcing the Squirtle to struggle for every inch of ground that the Water Gun gained. The intensity of the salamander's flames was so strong that the water from the turtle's attacks was actually being evaporated and steam was beginning to fill the battlefield.

The Water Gun inched closer and closer until it was a hand's length away from Surtr.

"Go, Surtr!" Red cried out just as the Water Gun suddenly shot forward.

"Hah! Pointless screaming will not-" Blue's gloating was cut off by the black Charmander suddenly appearing in front of Blue's Squirtle.

Instead of being overpowered like Blue and his Squirtle had assumed, Surtr had instead cut off his attack and ducked down. Without any resistance, the Water Gun had thus naturally suddenly forward, making it appear as though the Squirtle had overpowered the Charmander. With the steam that was produced from the clash, no one was able to catch Surtr's actions and thus he was able to sprint forward under the Water Gun until he was right in front of his opponent.

The Charmander took advantage of the Squirtle's surprise to lash out with his claws, raking them across the turtle's face and drawing blood, nearly gouging an eye out in the process. The Water-Type immediately tried to Withdraw into its shell but Surtr prevented by gripping the turtle's head with both hands and then proceeded to blast the Squirtle with a torrent of searing flames at point-blank. Regardless of Type Resistance, there wasn't much that could stand up to an assault like that.

Blue immediately returned his Pokémon to his Pokeball to prevent it from being permanently injured or even dying.

"Damn. I forgot how vicious Surtr can be when provoked." Blue muttered as he summoned his Eevee onto the Battlefield.

It seemed like the rest in the Pokeball had done the Eevee some good. It had regained control over its motor functions although the slow mincing steps that it took showed that Mjollnir's Thunder Wave still had lingering effects.

While the Eevee's weakened status might have made this an easy win, Red was conscious of the way Surtr's shoulders drooped and the harsh pants coming from the Charmander. Standing up to the Squirtle's Water Gun for so long had definitely taken its toll on Surtr as well. He would have to manage the battle very carefully.

The two Pokémon circled each other slowly and warily, trying to spot an opening that they could exploit. Neither Pokémon dared to fire off any attacks, even as testing shots, for fear of dipping into their already low energy reserves.

The Eevee attempted to use its Baby-Doll Eyes, its eyes opening wide and shimmering slightly as though it was about to cry. It looked so pitifully adorable (which was the whole point) that any attacker would hesitate in its offense. Surtr merely replied with a surly Growl, unfazed by any attempt to lower his guard.

In the end, Surtr was the one that made the first move.

He belched out a wall of flames that stretched extremely wide, sacrificing range for width, preventing the Eevee from dodging to the side. Blue's Pokémon simply skittered backwards, eyes darting from side to side to try to catch its opponent's movements.

What the Eevee was not expecting, however, was for the Charmander to burst through the wall of flames that he had created, fangs bared and claws glinting wickedly in the dwindling sunlight. With the darkening sky as the backdrop, the flickering shadows created by the flames caused Surtr, with his black skin, to look like a demon bursting forth from brimstone.

Startled and more than a little intimidated by Surtr's frightening visage, the Eevee reacted instinctively with a shower of speedy stars. The Charmander faltered a little under the powerful attack but powered through anyway, intending for his gambit to finish this battle once and for all.

The Eevee took advantage of the Charmander's momentary pause to jump to the side- or it would have if a spasm had not struck its leg muscles, causing it to trip and fall at the critical moment.

Surtr was on it in a moment, ready to end his opponent's life when Blue recalled his Pokémon, eyes wide with shock.

"I...I actually lost." He murmured.

When he had lost to Red in any other manner before, he had always been able to console himself with 'this is trivial' or 'this doesn't matter'. However, he could not do the same, because this was _not_ trivial and this _mattered_.

"Good job, Red. Well played." Blue said in the end, because Red _had_ done a good job and it _was_ a well-played battle. No amount of excuses would change that. He was still in shock at having lost but Blue was not stupid enough to go into denial.

He shook his head to shake himself awake. He could throw himself a pity party later if he needed to. He needed to focus on moving forward now. If he stopped here, he would never move again and Blue refused to let himself stop just because of one failure.

"Guess this proves that you do have the ability to be my rival, huh." Blue smirked.

"Viridian Forest better be cleared by the time I'm done. Smell ya later, loser!" Blue said as he walked towards the League HQ, an arm raised in farewell.

Red thought he would be over the moon at having defeated Blue. Instead, he felt disappointed. Not at Blue, of course, but at himself.

* * *

He had known and fought against and with Mjollnir for a month now, and even longer than that with Surtr. Blue had had his Pokémon for a grand total of one day and yet Blue had still put him on the ropes, after his Pokémon had just finished fighting a wild Pokémon. Red had also noticed the dark rings around his rival's eyes, indicating that the boy had probably not slept a wink and was out training through the night, and the two extra Pokeballs hanging on Blue's belt.

He had technically won that battle but Red knew that if Blue were to go all-out, he would have ended up as the loser.

He praised Surtr and Mjollnir for the hard work that they had put in, for they had indeed fought very well. The problem lay with him. He wasn't good enough.

And so, two teenagers left in separate ways, both displeased with their performance in the recent battle and vowing to get stronger.

* * *

_367 days to the Pokémon League Challenge_

* * *

_That loss against Red was crucial. It woke me up and drove me to work harder than I ever had before. _

_All this time, I had live life thinking that there was no one that could possibly beat me when it mattered. I was proved wrong. That battle mattered, and I lost._

_One could argue that I was tired, my Pokémon were not in perfect condition and I had another two Pokémon as back-up but that, frankly speaking, does not matter. _

_It is a fool that believes that he will always be able to fight in optimum conditions. Life is harsh, especially in this world that we live in where almost every step is treacherous. One can definitely expect to fight in unfair condition sometime in one's life._

_That battle against Red was a test and I had failed it._

_It was extremely painfully but honestly, I have to thank Red for beating me that day. I might not have been to reach my current level if not for that painful loss before my journey had even officially begun._

_-_Rising to the challenge by Gary Oak

* * *

Trainer Name: Red

Gym Badges: 0

Pokémon captured: 2

Pokémon Nickname: Mjollnir

Pokémon Species: Pikachu

Pokémon Ability: **Lightningrod**- Electric-type moves are drawn to this Pokémon. Electric-type moves will do no damage and the Pokémon's SP ATK is raised one stage

Type: Electric

Level: 14

Moves Learnt:

-Growl

-Thundershock

-Tail Whip

-Play Nice

-Quick Attack

-Thunder Wave

Trainer Notes:

Pikachu was the first Pokémon I fought and the meanest I had ever met up to date. I have no idea why it was in Route 1, so far away from Viridian Forest, but I guess I'll find out soon enough. Pikachu's body size is extremely small; probably half the size of a regular adult Pikachu but its tail, on the other is much longer than a Pikachu's tail. That tail might explain why Pikachu's electric attacks are much more powerful and focused than other Pikachus'.

It has displayed cunning as well in the way it sets up ambushes and has proven itself to be a quick learning, adapting quickly to new situations and then improving itself from each encounter.

Pikachu has accepted its nickname of Mjollnir, named after the hammer of the Thunder God because that is how Mjollnir appears to me; embodying the wrath of the Thunder God in one mighty smite. Mjollnir has also officially become the first Pokémon that I caught after it consented to join my team.

Personality wise, I believe there is a lot more to learn but I have found that Mjollnir has a strange fascination with television programmes and my cap. Aside from that, I think that something happened to it in Viridian Forest which is causing a deep aversion for the forest. I guess I'll find out what happened when I actually enter the forest.

-Red

Pokémon Nickname: Surtr

Pokémon Species: Charmander

Pokémon Ability: **Solar Power- **During sunshine, the Pokémon's Special Attack raises to 1.5 times but HP decreases every turn.

Type: Fire

Level: 15

Moves Learnt:

-Scratch

-Growl

-Ember

-Smokescreen

Trainer Notes:

While Mjollnir was the first Pokémon that I caught, Surtr was actually the first Pokémon that I befriended. The characteristic that stands out immediately is Surtr's black skin where a normal Charmander's is orange. It is because of this discolouration that Surtr was ostracised by the other Pokémon; an experience that I empathise with.

Because of the experience that he had growing up, Surtr tends to be surly and antagonistic except around people that he likes, of which I am thankful to be one of.

When around people that he likes, Surtr transforms into an extremely bright and cheerful Charmander and I dearly wish to see more of this side of him.

One thing to note though is that Surtr seems to be getting more vicious and violent in his fights recently. Is it his draconic heritage or is it something else? I will have to keep a close watch on him.

-Red

* * *

Trainer Name: Blue

Gym Badges: 0

Pokémon captured: 4

Pokémon Nickname: N/A

Pokémon Species: Eevee

Pokémon Ability: **Adaptability- Increases **the Same Type Attack Bonus from *1.5 to *2.

Type: Normal

Level: 10

Moves Learnt:

-Helping Hand

-Growl

-Tackle

-Sand Attack

-Baby-Doll Eyes

-Swift

Trainer Notes:

Grandpa sure knows how to pick them. Battle-wise, there is nothing to complain about Eevee. Its foundations are strong, which make it easy to train. It follows orders obediently too and has a work ethic that I can respect. The only possible flaw is its over-reliance on its Trainer's orders; it cannot work well unless orders have been issued. Of course, that is the Trainer's job so that will be fixed in due time.

Personality-wise, however, there is much to complain. For starters, the Eevee is annoyingly affectionate and incredibly adept at manipulating the emotions of people around it.

I am attempting to decrease the degree of its affection but it seems like a tough battle on that front.

May the Gods have mercy on me.

-Blue

Pokémon Nickname: N/A

Pokémon Species: Squirtle

Pokémon Ability: **Rain Dish- **If Heavy Rain weather is in effect, recovers 1/16th max Hit Points at the end of the turn.

Type: Water

Level: 10

Moves Learnt:

-Tackle

-Tail Whip

-Water Gun

-Withdraw

Trainer Notes:

As expected from a Pokémon from grandpa's lab, Squirtle is a solid Pokémon with a solid foundation. Training it will not be too difficult. The only thing that it is lacking is battle experience, which I will ensure that it gets in abundance soon enough.

Squirtle is, after all, my trump card against the Pewter and Cerulean Gyms.

Right now, I have not known it for long enough to make an accurate judgement of its personality. More will be added to these notes when I discover new facts

-Blue

* * *

**A/N: This chapter introduced what I'm sure you guys can guess is a major recurring character; Blue.**

**I tried to portray both major characters as actual people that readers might be able to empathise with. Blue is an intelligent teenager struggling to get out of his grandfather's shadow. His life is not as rosy as people think. **

**Red, couldn't care less and is actually antagonistic towards people in general. When it comes to people (or Pokemon) that he cares about, however, he becomes a lot less secure, as evidenced by his stuttering when talking to Mjollnir.**

**Both of them are also extremely selfish and self-centred at the moment because, well, people have flaws. They have their own strengths too but they are never going to be perfect.**

**I would like feedback though on how I have portrayed them. What have I done right? Where should I improve?  
**

**Therefore, read and review, people! **


	3. Chapter 3

**To Be The Very Best**

**Chapter Three**

* * *

**A/N: For those that read this before I did the scene breaks, I have to apologise very deeply. I had formatting in the Word document but when I uploaded it, the formatting was somehow removed and I did not have any knowledge of that. Once again, my sincere apologies.  
**

* * *

_While Viridian Forest does not have any, to date and to current knowledge, any extremely powerful Pokémon like those found in the Victory Road, Mt. Silver or even the Safari Zone, the Viridian Forest is not to be underestimated. _

_Clocking in as the single largest Untouchable (refer to appendix for detailed definition of an Untouchable), Viridian Forest is a sprawling maze with treetops so dense that only a little sunlight goes through the treetops. Make sure that you have the most current map before you enter the Forest, or one will most assuredly be lost. An Escape Rope is also highly recommended as electronics do not work in an Untouchable and, in the event that one is lost in the forest, help cannot be obtained._

_As stated previously, there are no powerful Pokémon residing in Viridian Forest. The danger, however, lies not in quality, but in quantity. The swarms in the Forest far exceed anything that can be found in the Routes. The only way to deal with a swarm in the Forest is not run into one in the first place. In the event that the reader _does_ encounter a swarm, retreat at one's fastest speed is the recommended option._

_Viridian Forest is mainly comprised of Bug and Flying types, with a few notable exceptions like Pikachus, Spoink, Numels, Budews and Carnivines. Aside from the Pikachus, these exceptions can only be encountered in specific situations and thus can be treated as outliers. _

_The recommended Pokémon to bring into the Forest for defence would therefore be Rock-Types, followed by Electric or Fire Pokémon._

_It should, however, be noted that the ecosystem in Viridian Forest is not that of a food chain. Rather, Pokémon will simply hunt and consume whatever they are to defeat. Population of various species will therefore fluctuate at different times. Anyone with the intention to enter the Viridian Forest should therefore check with the nearest Ranger Outpost as they will have the best information on the current population composition._

_The general composition for this edition is as follows..._

-A Guide to Viridian Forest, 74th edition

* * *

"Aww would you look at that? That is so cute!"

Blue stoically walked through the halls, trying his best to ignore the hushed whispers and giggling amongst the girl Trainers that he passed by. He was not _cute!_ Cool, suave and charming were all adjectives that he was willing to accept with grace but not _cute_.

Blue glared down at the culprit responsible for his humiliation but, from his angle, could only see the a little bit of her brown head and her two long ears.

Despite his objections, Eevee had insisted on her customary spot at his neck acting as his living scarf after his loss to Red. He had glared at his Pokémon, his irritation from his loss rapidly rising from his Pokémon's disobedience. He had shot her down harshly and then pulled out his Pokeball with the intention to return her to her Pokeball. He had wanted to keep her out initially, but he figured that with the disobedience that the Normal-Type had displayed, some isolation in the Pokeball would serve as adequate punishment.

And then, his Eevee got up to her usual tricks. Her eyes widened and began to shimmer from unshed tears as her ears drooped down slightly. Her body posture changed into one of abject dejection as she curled up on herself.

Well, that was not going to work on him. Blue was the coldest son of a bitch around and a little display would not be able to garner any sympathy from him. In fact, the Eevee's punishment would be even harsher for this attempt to manipulate her Trainer's emotions.

Five minutes later, the Eevee was purring happily, wrapped around her Trainer's neck like a scarf. That had been her default position ever since and nothing that he tried could change that fact.

The male teenager strode through the League HQ, scowling angrily at how easily he had capitulated to his Pokémon's charms. It seemed like his Eevee could melt even his heart of stone.

"You'll pay for this later, fur ball." Blue muttered.

The Eevee heard her Trainer say something but did not know what exactly was said. She titled her head upwards, staring at her Trainer curiously before she smiled and licked her Trainer on the nose. It didn't matter what he said. She loved her Trainer anyway!

Blue stomped through the halls, intent on reaching his designated room as quickly as possible. He glared at anyone that was in his way or was whispering about him but he frankly did not look intimidating at all with an Eevee wrapped around his neck and a Wartortle waddling beside with a smile on its face.

He really could not wait to go back to his room.

* * *

He felt much better after a shower. Now, since the training for the day was done, he reckoned that some rest on his bed would be a good reward for himself for all the work that he had done.

He finished towelling his hair dry and looked at his bed, whereupon his eyebrows began twitching and he was sure that if he looked in the mirror now, he would a vein in his temple pulsing.

"Get off my bed now!" He roared.

His Pokémon that had been chatting animatedly with each other while sprawled on his bed jumped up in shock and immediately scampered off the bed, looking sheepishly at their Trainer while he glowered at them.

Eventually, deciding that chastising or scolding them was simply not worth the effort at the moment, Blue sighed and swept some fur and feathers off his bed before he collapsed on his bed, scrolling his Pokedex to review the progress of his Pokémon.

He noted with pride that all of his Pokémon were coming along very nicely. His Squirtle had evolved into a Wartortle during their training session today, and all of his other Pokémon, including the two Pokémon that he intended to keep hidden as trump cards, were progressing at the same rate.

Blue idly noted that perhaps he should give his Pokémon nicknames. Red had, after all, given his Pikachu a nickname after just one day, and given Surtr his nickname the instant that the idiot had met the Charmander and while he himself had already had his Pokémon for three days now. If only his Pokemons' personalities had not ruined the theme that he had had in his mind.

He had intended to name his Pokémon after Eldritch Abominations; terrifying names to represent the terrifying monsters that his Pokémon would undoubtedly be. And then grandpa had given him his Eevee and his plans were thrown out of the window. He would be laughed out of Kanto if he named that adorable (but he would _never_ admit it) fur ball after an Eldritch Abomination. As if the Eevee wasn't enough, she had infected his other Pokémon with her damnable cheerfulness and affection and now his other Pokémon, while not to the Eevee's extent, were all happy-go-lucky Pokémon.

At least they were strong. Blue could console himself with that. At least they were strong and followed his every command when in battle obediently.

His Eevee proved to be an extremely dedicated and fierce battler, often pushing herself in training until she collapsed from exhaustion. Blue had a feeling though that the Eevee did not push herself because she wanted to be stronger but because _he_ wanted her to be stronger. He had a feeling that his Eevee would be perfectly happy to take part in Coordination Contests or Beauty Contests if he wanted her to.

A knock sounded at the door then, interrupting his musings.

"Yes?" Blue asked as he opened the door a crack, allowing him to take in the sight of a male Trainer.

"Ah, Gary! I heard that you were back. Well, a few of us were getting together for a light battling and session and I was wondering if you wanted to join us?"

Blue barely repressed a sneer at the thought of training with amateurs. He had seen the Trainers that the boy in front of him was talking about during one of their training sessions. They had been more obsessed with letting their Pokémon learn powerful, and therefore flashy and 'cool' moves than actually improving the Pokémon and to Blue, that was the hallmark of an idiotic amateur that was simply not worth his time.

A Fire Blast used by a weak Pokémon would naturally lose to a Flamethrower used by a strong Pokémon. The weak Pokémon would have thus expended a lot of energy only to suffer damage while the strong Pokémon would have taken its opponent down with relative ease.

What this meant was that the Pokémon itself was the priority, and not the moves that it learnt. That was why he had focused on building up his Pokémon's foundations first by focusing his training on improving their physical parameters. Speed, strength, defence and reaction times; characteristics that synergised with each other extremely well and resulted in a Pokémon that was greater than the sum of its parts. His methods had paid off very well, as evidenced by the rate that his Pokémon had grown.

However, he had in image to maintain and he could not go around spouting his thoughts to everyone that he met. The only one that he could, and ever had, shot his mouth off without thought for the consequences was Red and this no-name Trainer in front of him whose name he could not even begin to bother remembering was definitely not worth the 'courtesy'.

"Oh, damn!" Blue said as he snapped his fingers.

"I just returned from a training session of my own and my Pokémon and I are quite tired and I was planning on resting until the talk. If I'd known that you guys were training I would have reserved our energy for this. Sorry, man." Blue said as he grimaced, to which the other Trainer simply waved the apology off with a smile on his face.

"Oh don't worry about it, though I must admit that I'm a little disappointed to not be training with an esteemed Trainer like you. We're having a friendly gathering to talk later on after the talk by the Elite Four. Would you like to join us then?"

"Yeah, sure." Blue nodded in agreement.

"See you later then!" Blue said as he closed the door.

While training with them would be a waste of his time, talking with them and building up a network would not be. They would most likely be running in different circles from him but if he was considered their friend and thus part of their group, he would have access to the trading deals and circuits that they were privy to. Such information was worth its weight in gold for Trainers that were planning on battling very competitively.

Well, his plans for the night were settled. Now he just had to find some way to kill time until the talk began.

Blue checked the clock. About forty-five minutes to go, huh.

* * *

Blue nodded appreciatively. That had been an extremely informative talk, with the individual members of the Elite Four coming up to share their own experiences as Trainers while handily giving out tips to the new Trainers. They obviously did not divulge _everything_ but what they had told was enough such that even Blue learnt something. Blue regarded anything that improved his abilities as a Trainer as a good thing.

Blue paid attention as Lance went up to the podium to make an announcement.

"Trainers! I am sure that some of you have heard of some complications in the Viridian Forest, where the League has had to prevent any entry into the Forest for safety reasons.

I am pleased to announce that the complications have been resolved and travel into Viridian Forest is now allowed. Of course, its status as an Untouchable remains the same and Trainers should therefore take the proper precautions like we have advised earlier.

Good luck, Trainers!"

Blue gaped at the Champion, absently noting the grandiose way in which Lance turned on his heels, his cloak billowing majestically behind him. Blue wanted to be able to pull off something as badass as that.

The majority of his brain was, however, focused on the announcement that was given and the implications behind it. Red had been the one sent to scout the Forest out and, if possible, remove the threat. Even if Red had run into trouble and called for reinforcements from the League, it was downright impossible for sufficient reinforcements to arrive within one day and be combat fit, let alone clear the threats within a day as well.

When one removed the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. Red had somehow accomplished in two _days_ what should have taken two _weeks_.

He did not notice his clenched fists, or the gritted teeth. Nor did he notice the other Trainers that were gazing at him warily because of the sheer aura that he exuded. He stood up, heedless of the numerous glances that came his way.

To hell with some networking session. He had more important things to do.

Blue packed his stuff and left the League HQ within an hour.

* * *

Red saw Viridian Forest long before he arrived at his destination. The gigantic trees stretched up so high that they seemed to be clawing at the sky. The trees loomed ominously over anything that came close to them, continuously exuding a foreboding presence, as expected of an Untouchable.

There were some areas of wilderness that remained as wilderness not because humans would not reclaim the land, but because they _could_ not. These areas teemed with savage and aggressive Pokémon and, through ways that science could not explain yet, could not be plotted. Or rather, the land within these areas kept shifting and changing, rendering any map inaccurate after half a year.

Humans had tried valiantly to conquer these areas over time. Armies marched into these areas and disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again. Technology advanced and humans were able to build bigger and more destructive weapons. However, for some reason, every time such a weapon was brought to these areas, the weapons would mysteriously stop working.

In the end, humans decided to give up trying to conquer these areas and settled for building outposts near them to fend off against any swarms that emerged from these areas. These areas soon came to be known as Untouchables.

Viridian Forest, which was Red's destination, was one such Untouchable.

"Halt!" A voice called out.

Red looked up from his conversation with Mjollnir and Surtr to see a man dressed entirely almost in red, from the wide-brimmed hat down to the vest and long pants The only exceptions were the black inner shirt and black boots that the man was wearing. Red recognised this as the uniform of the Rangers; a uniform that was undoubtedly Red's favourite, considering that it consisted mainly for Red's favourite colours.

"Viridian Forest is currently closed off by orders of the League due to complications in the Forest. Please turn back for your own safety." The Ranger announced as he held a hand out in the universal sign for 'stop.'

In response, Red simply took out the documents that Professor Oak had given to him for access and identification and handed them to the Ranger.

The Ranger arched an Eyebrow before he accepted the documents and perused them briefly, catching sight of the symbol of the League and Professor Oak's emblem. The Ranger immediately let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God reinforcements are finally here! It's been like hell every day, dreading that this would be the day that the wild Pokémon launch one final assault on the outpost."

The Ranger then lowered the document and gazed at Red critically.

"Wait. _You're_ all that the League and Professor Oak sent?" The Ranger asked in a disbelieving manner.

Red forced himself to remain calm, recognising the implied insult to his abilities at that comment. He had to remain calm. Blowing up or throwing a tantrum would not help him at all. Besides, he already knew how to deal with people like this. People had been looking down on him his entire life, after all.

His Pokémon, however, while not fully understanding the Ranger's words, understood the tone of the man and displayed their displeasure in their own ways. Surtr openly snarled at the Ranger, his tail flames getting just a bit larger while Mjollnir glared at the man, sparks of electricity dancing across his fur.

Red pressed a smile, touched by his Pokémon's actions even if they were unnecessary. He quieted them with a wave of his hand before he returned his attention to the Ranger who was startled by the sudden hostility displayed by the Pokémon.

"You can question Professor Oak on his choices later if you want to. Shall we get going now?" Red said levelly, pointedly not apologising for his Pokemons' actions. In his opinion, his Pokémon had done nothing wrong so why should they have to apologise or why should he have to apologise on their behalf?

The Ranger opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something before he closed it, apparently deciding that discretion was the better part of valour.

Red simply smirked. As expected, any Ranger that was posted out here to ward off any curious people was probably a low-ranking Ranger. Gym Leaders, bar a few exceptions, did not dare to even think of opposing the Professor. A low-ranking Ranger like this? The result was obvious.

* * *

Red was led into the Ranger Outpost which was the only way to gain access to Viridian Forest. The edges of the Forest were walled off by imposing steel fences; not as a way to keep the wild Pokémon in but rather a way to keep foolish people _out_.

As Red walked through the Outpost, the first that he noted was the general mess of the Outpost. I wasn't dirty but rather untidy, which was understandable. While hygiene, and thus cleanliness was important. Tidiness was not as important in what was effectively a state of war. The Teenager also noted several rooms that had been hastily converted into temporary infirmaries and the general lack of people walking around the Outpost. This more than anything, drove home the fact that the situation was as serious as it could get. The equipment that he was carrying in his backpack suddenly seemed so much heavier.

He entered the forest with a "Good luck" from the Ranger and then he was all alone in the deadly forest with his Pokémon as his only companions.

Instead of the sounds of wildlife that one would have been expecting to be present in a forest, an oppressive silence filled the air. Trees stretched up as far as he could see and even the sunlight seemed to be warded off, with only a few rays piercing through the dense treetop. An air of anticipatory uneasiness permeated the air and Red found himself going for his knife out of instinct.

He looked to the side and found Surtr turning his head from side to side, obviously on the lookout of any enemies. Mjollnir, however, was tenser than the situation called for. His ears were pulled back and pressed to his skull while his tail was waving about agitatedly. This was additional evidence that the Pikachu had not left on good terms.

Bracing himself, Red signalled for his Pokémon to start moving.

Being the most resilient and the one with the Type-Advantage, Surtr led the way, his tail flame acting as the perfect beacon to lead the way. Red followed immediately after, with Mjollnir guarding the rear. With the Pikachu's speed and range of attacks, Mjollnir would be able to react to a frontal attack easily enough, which was why Red had placed the electric rodent as a rearguard.

With him in the middle of the formation, commands would have to travel a shorter distance and he would be able to reach both of his Pokémon with ease. There was also the fact that being the frailest out of the trio, he was the one that needed to be protected and the middle position was the safest position.

* * *

It was over in one slash.

He grinned as the bisected corpse of the Flying-Type dropped down to the ground, with the Pokémon not even knowing that it had been hit before he died. This was good. He was well on his way to achieving his goal.

Flashes of that black-clad human flashed through his mind. Ninja; he had heard other Pokémon and humans call him. That man who was the bane and terror of his previous home. He had seen the man, a single human, move and strike so fast with such deadly skill that a _Ninjask_, the epitome of speed, had been caught unawares and fallen in one hit. That man was his goal.

He had been abducted and brought to this strange forest before his goal was achieved but that was alright. This forest was strong, and the challenges that it provided him were sufficiently stimulating. He could _feel_ himself growing stronger with every passing day.

Motion above him caught his eyes. One more strike. One more kill.

When he first woke up in this forest, the Flying-Types had tried to prey on him, thinking him easy prey. Prey? He would show them who the prey was. He had thus started his crusade to hunt down every Flying-Type that he saw, with great success.

The Beedrill were getting a little uppity, however, now that their natural predators were being killed by him, and several of them had actually attacked him. _Him!_ The one that was undoubtedly the lord of this forest! The gall of those weak Bugs!

The wind shifted. The leaves of the trees rustled, sending a message to the denizens of the Forest. There were intruders; strong ones. That meant good prey. He smiled. This might be interesting.

* * *

So, that was it.

Red lowered his guide as he looked at the overturned bus in front of him. Viridian Forest had been quick to claim anything that entered its bowels. Even though it was little more than a week since the bus had entered the forest, weeds and some kind of plants that Red could not identify were already growing on the bus and attempting to break it apart. Red had no doubt that in a month or so, there would be no trace of the manmade transport left.

There would be time for philosophical thoughts later. He had come to the incident site for one reason only and it was time to get to it.

A jerk of his head later and both Pokémon were prowling through the wreck, sniffing at the numerous fragments of scrap in the vain hopes that they would be to locate a scent trail that would lead them right to the Beedrill hives. Red did not fancy tromping around Viridian Forest, vainly searching for his targets while attracting tons of unwanted attention from the forest denizens. He wanted to be in and out as quickly as possible.

For once, his luck held.

The two Pokémon put their heads together, evidently sharing their findings before, satisfied with their findings, nodded as one and turned to their Trainer. With a synchronised move that looked almost practiced, both Pokémon pointed in the direction that the scent led them.

Red nodded in thanks and consulted the map in the guide book. It was relatively current; being only two months old after the map had been published. Red, like many Trainers, was extremely thankful and held utmost respect for these cartographers who ventured into the Untouchables and risked their lives on a regular basis so that others would not have to risk their lives.

Red looked up from the map, double-confirming that he was reading the map correctly, and looked back down, frowning deeply. The directions that his Pokémon had indicated to them would necessitate the group to venture into an area that was not as well mapped because of 'possible dangers'. A safer route had been mapped out if one wanted to get from Pewter City to Viridian City or vice-versa. If he ventured off the path now, there was a high chance that he would not be able to find his way around even with a map in hand.

Should he take the risk? One the one hand there was the riskier approach where he might be able to track his targets down quickly but ran the risk of losing his way. On the other hand, he could stick to the safer path and simply hope that he could find clues along the way.

The obvious choice was to be prudent and play it safe. Clues would eventually surface over time. He just needed to be patient. However, Red could not find it in himself to be patient. His 'loss' against Blue still hounded him. If he kept dallying around in Viridian Forest, Blue would quickly surpass him at the rate that his rival was progressing. He had made his Pokémon almost equal to his own in just one day. How wide would the gap be after two weeks?

That, more than anything else, made up his mind.

Red gestured with his hands and the team moved forward in the same formation, tracking their prey in absolute silence.

* * *

The next clue, if it could even be called one, that the team stumbled upon was a neatly bisected corpse of a Pidgeotto that, judging by how the blood had not congealed fully, was only recently killed.

Red knelt down beside the corpse and scrutinised it carefully, noting the too-clean slice that could not have been accomplished by the claws or teeth that Pokémon normally attacked with. In fact, there was nothing in Viridian Forest that could accomplish this. It looked like a slash that had been delivered by a weapon like a sword. An attack by a human? Possible, but it did not make much sense. What kind of motive would be behind a random kill like that?

Red prodded the leg muscles of the avian and noted the lack of tension in the flesh. That meant that the Pidgeotto had died without even sensing an attack coming, or the muscles would be tense from agitation or fright.

That made matters even more mysterious. As far as he knew, the only human that could possibly pull off something like this would be Koga or one of his disciples. However, Koga would obviously not pull off a random killing Viridian Forest of all places and something like a rogue disciple was out of the question. Any rogues were summarily dealt with by Kanto's Master Assassin.

Well at least he knew a cause of the sudden surge of attacks by Beedrills. Someone, or something, was going around and killing random Flying-Types on some kind of strange grudge or crusade. Without their natural predators feeding on their young, the Weedles and Kakunas were able grow without much harassment. Considering the rapid rate that Bug-Types tended to grow at, the population must have surged with Beedrills, resulting in more younglings and the cycle kept continuing until there was not enough space or food in the forest to support the hives.

Just like the incident at Route 10, the wild Pokémon had then tried to obtain more food and space outside of their own natural habitat, only to be repelled by the Viridian Rangers.

Red sighed and shook his head. While that answered the question of how the Beedrills' population had swelled to their numbers, it still did not tell him what or who was committing the killings and unless he apprehended the culprit, the same thing would just repeat over and over again.

What was already an extremely difficult task of thinning out the Beedrill population had turned into a more difficult and complex task of tracking down this serial killer and then, hopefully capturing him so that Red could extort some answers from the culprit. He hoped to god that it was a single psychopath that was causing this and not an organised crime orchestrated by a group. That would be _way_ over his payroll.

Red felt a tug on his pants and looked down to see both Pokémon looking at him beseechingly as they pointed to the dead avian. The free meal waiting in front of them was apparently too much for them to resist.

Red shrugged, giving them permission to do as they pleased. It was only a minor delay and it would be prudent to have his Pokémon at full strength for whatever troubles lay ahead anyway. Surtr was even nice enough to cook a portion of the flesh with his flames, which Red appreciated greatly.

* * *

Sated and energised after their brief break and meal, the team returned to tracking with restored vigour.

Red's vigour, however, did not last long. He had no idea if it was just his imagination but he felt like there was _something_ watching him. Neither of his Pokémon reported anything strange, which only served to make him even tenser. His instincts had served him well in his numerous explorations of Route 1 and he was disinclined to dismiss them.

In addition, the air simply felt _thicker_ and the silence was getting more pronounced. Their ragged breaths from their trekking punctuated the silence and every time he exhaled, Red felt like he was being extremely noisy and that something was going to come out of the woodworks at any time. An aura of uneasiness wrapped around the team as they resolutely pushed forward anyway.

Surtr tapped his nose then, signalling that the scent was getting stronger and that they were probably close to the hive. Red nodded and set his backpack down, pulling his equipment out while his Pokémon dutifully guarded him, scanning the surroundings for any threats.

Over time, the most efficient method for capturing a Beedrill (for the Trainers that wanted a Beedrill but could not be bothered to go through the tedious process of rearing a Kakuna or, god forbid, a Weedle), had been refined by the group of Trainers that were known as Bug Catchers.

The tactic relied heavily on guerrilla tactics and a Pokémon with ranged attacks was necessary. A Trainer would get as close as to the Hive as possible without getting spotted and then launch an attack on the hive, thus drawing the attention of the Beedrills that would be protecting the hive.

The mindset of a Beedrill was simple; defend the hive at all costs, and then chase down any enemies until they were out of the designated boundary, and then return to defending the hive.

The tactic was meant to exploit this mindset.

After launching the attack, the Trainer would then immediately beat a hasty retreat, with his Pokémon launching ranged attacks to keep the Beedrills' attention focused on the Trainer and his/her Pokémon. The attacks would then stop when the Trainer got close to the territory boundary and then, when the Beedrills turned back to return to their hive, the Trainer's Pokémon would resume the attacks, restarting the chase. Rinse and repeat.

After a sufficient amount of time, one, or if the Trainer was exceptionally lucky, two to three Beedrills would be tired out by the constant chasing and harassment and be easy for the Trainer to capture.

Such a process normally took an entire day, and might not be successful as it relied heavily on the assumption that the Beedrills would behave in a generic manner. However, the prospect of obtaining a fully-grown Beedrill in just one day made this tactic very popular.

This was, however, too slow for Red.

He and Professor Oak had estimated that there might be around thirty Beedrills that he would have to deal with. Assuming he managed to capture two to three Beedrills a day, it would approximately fifteen days to capture all of the Beedrills. That was why the time allotted for the mission was two weeks.

Red fully intended to complete in less than that. If his gamble paid off, he would be out of the Forest in a week or less.

What followed was a solid two hours of doing nothing but clambering up trees to set up the traps that he needed, with him whispering instructions and explanations to his Pokémon so that they would be able to play their part in his grand plan to capture at least a third of the hive in one fell swoop.

* * *

When he was done and satisfied with the traps that he had set, Red nodded to his Charmander who nodded back in turn and returned to leading the way.

The trio eventually arrived at a clearing where Red had difficulty stifling his instinctual gasp.

"Oh my god." Red whispered, and it was apparent from the shock n his Pokemons' faces that they shared the same sentiments.

For as far as the eye could see, the clearing was awash with Kakunas hanging from the trees, connected to large silky cocoons. They probably numbered in the hundreds and that was an optimistic estimate. The trees themselves were teeming with Weedles, the Bugs being so numerous that the barks of the tree could not even be seen and the Weedles had to crawl over each other to get to where they wanted to go; which tended to be the nearest cocoon.

The rancid stench of rotting meat assaulted his olfactory senses and Red had to repress his gag reflex. His eyes glanced over the white cocoons again and then it hit him. The cocoons were connected to the Kakunas. The Weedles were scrambling to get to them. There must be something in there that the Pokémon either needed or wanted; like sustenance. Nutrition. Bodies.

The image of human bodies, probably not even dead yet, being dragged into one of these cocoons to be digested and then consumed by the Bug-Types struck his mind and Red felt his bile rise and burn the back of his throat.

_Oh dear gods_.

This was beyond the worst projections that he and the Professor had come up with. This was the stuff of nightmares. How the hell had things escalated to such an extent? This...this could not be natural. The thought of all of those Kakunas evolving into Beedrills made him pale and shake with terror.

He stumbled backwards and accidentally stepped on a twig that snapped with a resounding crack.

Hundreds of red eyes that had been closed immediately snapped open, bathing the clearing in an eerie red light. The motion of the Weedles stilled before they, as one, turned their heads slowly to stare at the intruder in their sanctuary.

A loud keening cry pierced the silence and the sound of angry buzzing filled the air.

"Run!" Red screamed as he snapped out of his frozen fear and sprinted back towards the traps that he had set. There was no need for silence now that his presence had been detected. The only hope that he had of surviving this was to lead the Beedrills that would be pursuing him into the kill zone that he had set up. Capturing was no longer a priority. _Surviving_ was. Then came the purging and, if he somehow managed to survive and kill off the threats, _then_ he could think about capturing some specimens for the Professor's research.

The trees around him clawed at the trio with their sharp branches, raking at their skin and drawing blood which the trio ignored. These were wild mild nuisances at this point of time. The dull buzzing had evolved into a wave of continuous droning that was punctuated by massive chittering, indicating that the Beedrill were hot on their tails.

Surtr turned back and belched out black smoke that, while not harmful, would hopefully serve to deter and confuse their pursuers for a little while. It also helped to camouflage the thin wires that Red had set up all around the kill zone that they had just entered. Red ducked down to avoid one of the wires that he had set up, pushing the Charmander's head down at the same time.

Then, they ducked behind a tree and waited.

They did not have to wait long for less than a minute later, a swarm of bees that had Red gaping rushed into the kill zone that Red had set up. Even if the trees were not already blocking out the majority of the sunlight, the sheer number of Beedrills present would have achieved the same effect.

The sharp 'twang' of a wire snapping informed the trio that a trap had been sprung. The battle had officially started.

Knowing what was going to come next, the trio immediately closed their eyes and covered their ears as the trap that the Beedrills had sprung lobbed a flash grenade right into the midst of the swarm.

Light and sound exploded out of the grenade, bathing the battlefield in intense bright light while painful sound waves slammed into the Beedrills.

The flash grenade blinded and disoriented the Beedrills. More importantly, it shocked them as the wild Pokémon had not been exposed to such attacks before. That shock translated into panic and in panic, the Beedrills reacted instinctually. The area that they were in was dangerous. Therefore, to preserve the welfare of the hive, all of the Beedrills had to evacuate from the dangerous immediately.

The Bug-Types instantly scattered, splitting into small groups in an attempt to save the majority of the Beedrills. One such group flew right towards Red and his Pokémon.

The trio was ready. The wild Pokémon were not.

Flames and lightning were flung at the unprepared Beedrill that flew right into the sudden assault. Most of them were killed instantly on contact. Following his original plan, Red threw Pokeballs at those that were merely wounded but did not bother to retrieve them. He would come back and collect these Pokeballs when (if) he survived this battle.

There were, however, those that were not caught in the attack at all and were now recovering from the surprise. The wild Pokémon that remained in the small probably numbered less than five but Red was not willing to take any chances. The other Beedrills that had scattered elsewhere had probably heard the cacophony from his Pokemons' attacks along with the dying screams of the Beedrills.

Sure enough, if he listened hard enough, he could hear the Bug-Types converging on his position.

"Move!" Red ordered and his Pokémon leapt to follow his command.

Surtr took the lead, ready to incinerate any enemies that happened to spawn in front of them, with his Trainer following hot on his heels while Mjollnir jumped onto Red's shoulder, zapping any pursuers that came too close for comfort.

"Dive!" Red hollered.

Both Pokémon and human immediately followed that order, diving down onto the ground and rolling forward before they continued on their dead sprint towards the next trap.

Before the Beedrill were able to even question why the Trainer had done such a strange move (if they could even do so with their limited intelligence), long wooden stakes that Red had fashioned himself using his knife showered the area that Red had just passed by, accompanied by several Pokeballs.

The stakes skewered anything in their way indiscriminately, pinning many a Beedrill to the ground due to torn wings. The Pokeballs that followed after ensured that any caught Pokémon would not be getting up to return to the fight.

The wild Pokémon were beginning to learn by now. They were coming to realise that they were being led into an area full of traps. The notion of retreat, however, never ever crossed their minds. Rather, their hive mind sought ways and means to overcome the traps that they were being led into so that they could eliminate the threat to the hive.

The Beedrills began to notice that there was a slight delay in between the wires snapping and the traps unleashing whatever hellish implements were in there. Their aggressive and offense-oriented mind came to a simple solution; all that they had to do was fly forward so fast that the traps could not catch them.

With that solution in hand, the next time the Beedrills encountered a web of steel that they could glinting in the faint sunlight, the wild Pokémon put on an extra burst, expecting the thin metal wires to snap like they had done before. However, this time, Red's pursuers were met with unyielding steel.

The Beedrills ran into the wall of sharpened and tough wires and were promptly shredded into pieces, spraying severed flesh and hemolymph everywhere. Those were further behind in the swarm desperately tried to brake and stop their headlong charge. However, with the speed that they were charging forward at, only a few were able to overcome their momentum and stop themselves from running into a grisly death.

In the meantime, Red and his Pokémon never stopped running. No matter how many traps he led the Beedrills into, there were _always_ more. The wild Pokémon were getting smarter as well and beginning to start flanking him. Lightning constantly flashed out from the Pikachu on his shoulder while bursts of fire seared any Beedrills that got close enough to Surtr. Despite his Pokémon's stalwart defence though, several Beedrills still managed to get into close range and it was only Red's constant battles with Mjollnir that allowed him to fend the wild Pokémon off while running.

They were doing well. Exceptionally well, in fact. However, this pace could not last. There was a finite amount of traps that Red had set and there honestly seemed to be an infinite number of Beedrills that were out for their blood. Red had not been doing much other than running, shouting orders and occasionally getting into the minor scuffle with a Beedrill that got too close. His Pokémon, on the other hand, had been firing off attacks almost non-stop and were bound to getting tired pretty soon. He might have to pull out his trump card sooner than expected. In order to maximise the effectiveness, however, he had to ensure that _every_ Beedrill was chasing after him.

He juked around a tree just in time for a Beedrill to impale the tree with its stinger, getting stuck as a result. It pulled hard to remove the stinger from the tree but it had struck with such great force that it was not going to be freed so easily. Mjollnir quickly put it out of its misery by killing it with a Thundershock to the eyes.

He resumed running, although this time he hollered unnecessarily loud and his Pokémon were also unnecessarily flashy with their attacks; all in an attempt to draw as much attention as they could.

They succeeded beyond their wildest belief.

Beedrills swarmed in from every direction possible and Red began to doubt the state of mind that he was in when he came up with this insane plan. The wild Pokémon were closing in at an alarming rate and Red began to fear that he might not be able to make it to his destination. All he could do no was run as fast as he could.

Red felt his foot step on the soft soil and give way beneath his foot a mere instant before the stinger of a Beedrill went through the space that his head once occupied. As Red fell into the pit that he had dug earlier, he reached into his vest and flung all the grenades that he could grab into the air. Surtr needed no further instructions and immediately breathed a torrent of flames up into the air.

Red impacted the bottom of the pit just as the Charmander's flames licked at the grenades. There was a brief sensation of searing heat, of being pressed flat into the ground and of a deafening clap and then he blacked out.

When he regained consciousness, Red was unsure as to how long he had been out. It should have not been long, judging by the fact that his Pokémon were picking themselves up around him. Considering the fact that neither he nor his Pokémon were actually able to wake up and not be food for some Weedles or Kakunas, Red guessed that his last minute gambit had succeeded.

He pushed himself up and his vision swam as his limbs gave out and his face met the ground painfully. It was then that his traitorous stomach decided to protest the treatment that his body had gone through and proceeded to vomit everything that he had eaten for the day on the ground.

While his face was still on it.

That alone cemented the fact that he was never going to pull off such a foolhardy stunt again. Red groaned in disgust as he struggled out of his outer vest and used it to wipe his face clean of vomit before he gave up the vest up as impossible to rescue and tossed it at the ground.

The teenager then looked up at the height that he had to climb to get out of the pit and groaned once more. Yep. He was never going to attempt such a trick ever again.

* * *

The sight that greeted him when he finally climbed out of the pit floored him. Literally. Red's legs gave way when he stumbled due to the shock he received. For as far as the eye could see, charred Beedrill corpses littered the impromptu battlefield. Thankfully, the fire had burnt itself out without spreading too far or he would have a forest fire on his hands. Speaking of which, he had actually _never_ heard of Viridian Forest having a forest fire. Huh. Strange...

Back to the matter at hand though...the number of Beedrill that had been chasing him was amazing, and terrifying.

"Oh yeah. Who's the badass now, hmm?" Red cheered as he took in his victory against Viridian Forest, using nothing more than sheer human ingenuity and some help from his friends, of course.

The sight of Surtr and Mjollnir stiffening and tensing quickly broke him out of his good mood. He was about to open his mouth to ask them what was wrong when he heard it; the sound of angry buzzing so numerous that it became a drone.

No way. There could not be possibly more. He had just killed over a hundred Beedrills throughout the chase. There was simply there could be more. That was nonsensical! He had to be hearing things. This was downright ridiculous. This was-

This was him being stupid. Red smacked his cheeks and focused, trying to drown out the rising panic in his chest at the thought of having to face the same number of Beedrills except without any traps or trump cards up his sleeve.

"Defensive formation, we-" was all that Red was able to get out before they were swarmed by vicious Beedrill that were hungry for vengeance for their fallen brethren.

Red no longer had time to think about the kind of shit that he was in or how terrified he was or the fact that he was probably going to die here, another victim of Viridian Forest. Every single iota of his brainpower was dedicated to ways to keep himself alive.

Duck, weave, dodge, slash. The eyes, go for the eyes. There's a tree; temporary defence. Coming from above, defend? No, not strong enough. Roll. Surtr is nearby. Drop. Beedrill fried. From the left. Parry. Strike.

It was a never-ending series of attacks. These Beedrill might not be strong, requiring only a single strike to their eyes to take them down but they had numbers on their side. By the gods did they have numbers on their side. The only thing that saved him from dying instantly was that Beedrills tended to be rather large; a little over half the size of an average adult male and therefore they tended to get in each other's way and only a few could attack him at the same time. It was also lucky for him that the Beedrill were so eager to stab him that they forgot that they had ranged attacks and those that were not in the immediate frontline and thus did not have such overwhelming bloodlust could not afford to use their infamous Poison Stings for fear of injuring their own comrades.

Despite the slight advantages he had and his superior skill, quantity in sufficient numbers could still trump over quality. He was tired and, more importantly, he was only human and it is human to make mistakes. Red's mistake was just exceptionally costly.

He misjudged the timing of his timing and so, instead of parrying a Beedrills stinger away, all he managed to do was slide his knife along the wild Pokémon's appendage. The Beedrill buried its lance ruthlessly in Red's gut, entering from the front and emerging cleanly from his back. There was a choked gurgle as blood bubbled up in his throat and he slumped over the stinger, the poison in the Beedrill's weapon weakening him.

_'Well, damn. I screwed up.'_ Red thought morbidly as his vision began to swim in front of him. The Beedrill extracted its appendage with a wet 'shlick' and the teenager knew that he would be dead with the next strike. He struggled to do anything; anything at all to prevent his impending death but his body just would not respond to his commands.

Just when Red was about to resign himself to his death, the battlefield exploded in a burst of fire.

* * *

Time seemed to stop when he saw his Trainer being impaled by a Beedrill. Having been occupied just ensuring his own survival, Surtr had been not been able to devote as much attention as he would have liked to his favourite human in the entire world. He was not worried though, because from the tales that Mjollnir had told him about their numerous death matches (something that he was still a little annoyed at the Pikachu for), the Charmander reckoned that the boy could probably hold his own until he was done clearing up whatever came at him.

However, he had forgotten that regardless of how smart or skilled Red was, Red was still a human. They would never be able to be as strong or last as long as a Pokémon could.

A choked gurgle that was utterly out of place on this battlefield (Beedrills never gurgled. They just gave a death keen if they could even make a sound when they died) caused him to turn around to investigate the strange anomaly, only for him to catch the horrifying scene of his Trainer being impaled.

Not Red. Dear Mew not Red. This could not be happening. Denial; the first stage of loss and stage. Surtr then moved on to the next stage almost instantly; Anger. Wrath so fierce that it threatened to consume his being and rationality. No, it did not threaten to. It _did_ consume his being and rationality and being. The fires of hatred flooded his veins, incinerating any semblance of sentience and leaving behind only the urge to _destroy_.

Surtr roared; a guttural and wordless cry that reverberated through the battlefield, conveying his bloodlust to everyone present.

His blue eyes turned red and slitted as he hunched over like a feral beast, baring his fangs at the Beedrill before him as flames dripped down from his exposed canines. The flames at his tail that represented his life forced exploded, turning from a small ember to a raging conflagration. And then, before the shocked and fearful eyes of every being present, the flames slowly turned from orange to purple.

Purple flames; the colour of a Dragon's flames.

The flames spread downwards the Charmander's tail in a wave, eventually consuming all of Surtr's flesh and where the flames touched, the Charmander's flesh transformed; becoming stronger and tougher, becoming the muscles that belonged not to a Charmander, but to a Charmeleon.

When the Evolution was complete, Surtr roared once more, shattering the sudden silence that had fallen upon the battlefield and the Beedrills immediately scattered and fled.

Beedrills were known to be extremely aggressive, willing to sacrifice their lives if it meant taking their target down. However, there was one thing that no species in the world, not even a Beedrill, would risk fighting; a Dragon on the warpath.

The newly evolved Charmeleon was not going to let the target of its wrath simply escape like that. He jumped leapt forward, landing on the back of a Beedrill before he gripped its head with his hands and tore the Beedrill's head off, which he then flung at another Beedrill with such force that the second Beedrill was crushed from the impact. Purple flames spilled forth from his jaws, incinerating everything in his sight. Nothing escaped from his wrath. Nothing escaped from a Dragon Rage.

Seeing that escape was impossible, the Beedrills turned back in a desperate attempt to kill their attacker.

Their attempts were futile.

His claws that were wreathed in a Dragon's flames tore through their carapace like they did not even exist. Anything that he fought died. Anything that he touched burnt. Anything that he laid eyes on burnt. Everything was destroyed.

Surtr continued slashing and breathing fire even when all the Beedrills were dead. The boiling blood within him screamed for more destruction and he could not ignore that command, for such was the nature of a Dragon Rage. At the cost of immeasurable power; flames that would melt even stones, the fires would never stop burning, consuming everything in its path until the user itself was consumed inside out from the intensity of the flames.

Such was the rage and grief of a Dragon.

The Charmeleon howled in his fury, and Viridian Forest trembled as its denizens scurried for safety. A Dragon had entered its midst and nothing would stop it. Nothing, except for...the return of what it had lost.

"Surtr, that's enough." Red called out weakly but the Charmeleon either could not hear it or chose to ignore his Trainer's commands, gripped in anger as he was.

"Surtr, that's enough." Red shouted out, a little stronger this time. He was ignored once more.

Red slowly pushed off the tree that he was leaning against, knocking away the emptied Antidotes and Potions away in his struggle to get free. His body trembled weakly and he reckoned that he probably looked like shit but that was stuff to be put on the backburner. He had something to do right _now_.

The teenager staggered over to the discoloured Pokémon that was now trying his best to utterly erase a tree from existence for some reason. Lost in his fury, the Charmeleon did not notice his Trainer approaching him from behind. As a result, Surtr was shocked when his Trainer suddenly gripped his head and twisted it around.

Surtr snarled instinctively, flames already dancing in his mouth but a look in his Trainer's furious eyes stopped him. The red eyes that had made the teenager an outcast burnt with a fervour that made his eyes seemingly glow in the dark. The anger in him could not be quelled, however, and just as Surtr was about to make his own move, the human gripped the Pokémon's tightly, choking the Charmeleon even as he smashed the Fire-Type into a tree.

Red then bent down so that he was right in front of Surtr's face and spoke in a low and cold voice.

"Right now, all I see before is a rabid animal and the only treatment a rabid animal deserves is to be put down. You either calm the fuck down, Surtr, or you die.

I like to believe that you are better than this though so I am giving you one chance. NOW SNAP OUT OF IT!" Red roared suddenly, the sudden increase in volume and sheer imperiousness that the teenager had spoken with stunned the Charmeleon and cowed him into submission.

The Charmeleon bowed his eyes, the red eyes slowly returning to their normal blue hue while the purple in its tail flames bled out and the flames were once again their usual cheerful orange.

Surtr threw himself forward, knocking his Trainer down in the process to hug his Trainer and only released the teenager when he caught the pained groan coming from the boy. Chastened, the Charmeleon immediately stood back, grinning stupidly at the fact that Red was _alive_.

Mjollnir crept forward, skirting warily around his teammate that had just gone berserk (although he would not hold it against the Charmeleon because his little tantrum had just saved all of their lives) and went up to Red, sniffing at the human until he was sure that the boy was alive and not going to die anytime soon. He then glared at the human for being so stupid as to nearly die and then grabbed the cap off the boy and then pointedly jammed it onto his own head. Stupid human.

Red simply chuckled, which then turned into a coughing fit. It seemed like he was not as healed as he thought. Oh well, it was a miracle that he was even alive at this point. The Antidotes had flushed most of the poison from his body but, judging by the cold sweat beading his skin, he was not out of the woods out. The Potions had stemmed most of the bleeding but he had no idea what state his internal organs were like at the moment. He would need a hospital for him to be fixed properly but he really did not have the luxury of that at the moment.

Red groaned as he struggled to get up to his feet. Blue had always said that he was too stubborn to die. Perhaps it was time to put that to the test.

Red took a step forward gingerly, wincing at the sharp stab of pain that assaulted his stomach and his vision turned white for a moment. He could not stop though. The Beedrills were just the symptoms. He had to get rid of that hive _now_, which should be much easier than that brutal fight against the Beedrills, and then find somewhere to hole up until his body was fit for combat.

He stumbled forward, grimacing with every step he took while his Pokémon hovered protectively near him. He wanted so badly to just forget it and leave the clean-up to tomorrow. However, he could not procrastinate. He could _not_ leave it tomorrow. By tomorrow, who knew how many more Weedles would be hatched and how many Kakunas would have evolved into new Beedrills?

It had been a fluke that Surtr had calmed down from his Dragon Rage. It was common sense that a Pokémon did _not_ calm down from a Dragon Rage. They continued attacking until their fury died out, or _they_ died out. Red was not willing to risk losing Surtr because of his own laziness.

And so, Red pushed on.

* * *

When he finally arrived at the clearing, Red was gasping harshly and his body was drenched in perspiration. The black undershirt that he had shredded to use as bandages for his wound seemed to be a little darker as well and Red suspected that his wounds had reopened due to his exertions. At least he had made it to his destinations.

The Weedles were absolutely still now, as opposed to their previously frantic movements. They must have sensed the death of all of their protectors and their instinctual defence mechanism was to stay still and hope any predators would just miss them or hunt some other unfortunate Weedle.

Red smirked nastily. Well _this_ predator was not going to let a single one escape. Out of breath and now willing to expend more effort than necessary, Red waved his Pokémon forward. This would be an easy cleanup. Although Kakunas and Weedles possessed ranged attacks in the form of the Poison Stings and there _were_ a lot of them, the puny Poison Stings could not possibly hope to match up to the flames of a Charmeleon and Mjollnir's own incredibly power electric attacks.

It was a massacre that Red delighted in watching. This was the perfect place to bring a Fire Pokémon. With so much grass and trees around, there was a never-ending supply of fuel for Surtr's flames. Within minutes, there was a blazing inferno devouring all the Bug-Types in the clearing.

This was for all of the humans that they had killed for their own gains. It felt good to be the one letting these wild Pokémon have a taste of their medicine. One does not strike out at humans without expecting some sort of repercussion.

The heat from the flames caused the cocoons to unravel and drop their cargo onto the ground. Red was 'treated' to the sight of numerous half-digested corpses. Even though he had just vomited recently, Red felt the urge to retch again but held it in. Later, when he was away from this mess, he could cry and vomit all he wanted. For now, he had to focus on the task.

Another cocoon unravelled, dropping a naked girl with the brightest blonde hair that Red had ever seen onto the ground. Red felt a pang of sadness at the sight. The poor thing looked to be close to his age; probably a few years younger. It was a pity that she had to die before her life had even started properly.

He turned his head to monitor the progress of his Pokémon but just before he turned his head away fully, Red caught a slight motion from his peripheral view. Startled, Red quickly focused on the 'corpse', staring at the girl's chest intently. Then, to his utter amazement, he saw the girl's chest rise, and then fall.

She was alive! But how?

No, did that even matter? She was in the middle of a burning field and she was probably close to death anyway. She did not have even a scrap of clothing on her so she must have been in the cocoon long enough for her clothes to be melted away. She must be close to death's door now. She was going to die anyway, so there was no point in saving her.

But the possibility of her being able to saved nagged at his mind. She had survived thus far. What was to say that she would not continue living? Did that even matter? He was injured and he could not possibly save her anyway. But he could try. Why would he risk his life for just one stranger? It was just a young girl! Age and gender made no difference to his decision. He should just stick with the safer method and if he had to, then bear the guilt for the rest of his life. He should just turn away and...

God damn his bleeding heart.

"Cover me!" Red shouted as he sprinted right into the middle of the bloody fire while he was injured just so he could save someone that might die anyway.

Mjollnir rolled his eyes at his human's insistent need to commit suicide via stupidity but obligingly intercepted all the Poison Stings that were fired at his human anyway. Surtr, on the hand, grinned widely at his Trainer's heroics. From the day that Red had walked over to him, the Charmeleon had _known_ that Red was a good guy and would never leave someone in the lurch.

* * *

This was interesting. So very interesting. He had watched as the human and the two Pokémon took on the first wave of Beedrills and won. He had watched as the little lizard had evolved into a Dragonling and felt his blood boil at the thought of fighting a Dragon.

He continued to watch from the shadows as the human pushed itself beyond its limits so that it could wipe out the Hive. He approved.

Cunning enough to set traps and eliminate a lot of Beedrills. Strong enough to fight off that entire swarm that even he might have difficulties with. Then there was the ruthlessness that required in a fighter, which called for one to do everything possible to utterly wipe out the enemy. Finally, there was the determination that one would required to push oneself beyond its limits like the human.

The human and its Pokémon would definitely prove to be worthy challenges. He patiently waited for the human to finish rescuing its kind. Just because he was going to kill all of them did not mean that he could not afford them some courtesy, after all.

When the human was finally done and the Hive eradicated, he grinned and blurred forward, going for the kill.

* * *

Red gasped and heaved on all fours after having dragged the girl back to where it was safe. Thankfully, the girl was svelte and lithe and therefore did not weight much, or he would never have been able to move her in his debilitating state.

Never again.

It was not an exaggeration to say that he had expended all of his energy to rescue that girl. It took all he had now just to control his breathing and he really could not move even an inch. His mind was so foggy that his sharpened instincts failed to take note of the green death speeding his way. Thankfully for the teenager, he did not have to.

Being the one that had lived his entire life in the wilds, Mjollnir was the one with the sharper instincts and thus the one to detect the hostile killing intent directed at his human. The instinctive Thundershock caused the enemy to veer from its chosen path, where it instead landed a distance from where Mjollnir was crouching protectively in front of the two humans. Having been alerted by his partner's attack that there was an enemy, Surtr followed suit, hunkering down in front of his Trainer and glaring at the new enemy that had appeared.

It was a Bug-Type, had a pair of wings and had two weapons for hands but that was all the similarities that the enemy shared with the Beedrills that they had just fought.

Instead of being yellow with black stripes, the enemy was green from head to toe. Instead of two drills, the new Pokémon had a scythe on each arm which looked wickedly sharp. Its head also looked like one that belonged to a praying mantis, completing the Bug-Type look.

Red only needed the scythes to identify the Pokémon though. Scythers were the only Pokémon species in existence to have scythes like that as their weapons. He guessed that this Pokémon was also probably the one that had gone on a killing spree of Avian-Types. That would explain why the population had been so dramatic. Introducing an entirely new species into Viridian Forest would have thrown the entire ecosystem out of whack.

However, this was yet another anomaly. Scythers were not native to Viridian Forest, just like Poochyenas were not native to Kanto. It was just as well that the Scyther was hostile towards them since Red fully intended to capture it anyway. The fact that it was the culprit and that it was here would mean that the Professor would want to analyse the reason behind its strange behaviour and possible reasons for it to be found here in Viridian Forest of all places.

Red firmly believed that the best defence was a good offense. He might not be able to move right now but he had recovered enough of his breath that he was able to give commands to his Pokémon.

First-mover advantage; the one who has initiative wins.

"Mjollnir, Quick Attack!"

Red knew that Scythers were fast, however he needed to know how fast this Scyther in particular was. Mjollnir was a very fast Pokémon as well, and Quick Attack only made the Pikachu faster. Pitting Mjollnir in a battle of speed at the start would allow him to know fast the Scyther was.

The answer that Red received was that the Scyther was _fast_. Blindingly fast.

The Scyther dashed forward with its own Quick Attack, closing the distance between it and the Pikachu in the blink of an eye before Mjollnir managed to accelerate fully. A scythe flashed out that the electric rodent was unable to dodge fully as blood dripped from the gash that the Scyther in retaliation.

Mjollnir did not mind though and instead grinned wickedly. Close range was honestly his favourite range. After the numerous fights with Red and then that battle with the Eevee, the Pikachu realised that point-blank shocks to the face were extremely effective regardless of Type. The fact that Scythers were part Flying would ensure that the shock would be especially painful.

Unfortunately for the Pikachu, the Bug-Type dodged the attack in a display of amazing dexterity, side-stepping and weaving past all the tendrils of electricity- right into a torrent of flame that erupted from the Chameleon's mouth.

Without missing a beat, the Scyther smoothly bent backwards, allowing the flames to pass over its face as it snapped its right leg up, smashing into Surtr's chin and slamming the Charmeleon's mouth shut, thus stopping the Fire-Type's attack. It then brought the same leg that it had attacked with down, grounding it firmly before the green menace pivoted on its right leg to the left, circling behind the Charmeleon with a smooth motion.

Surtr was no slouch in battle though, and he knew what was coming the moment the Scyther seemingly disappeared from his line of sight. He leapt forward while twisting around, his leap so powerful that it brought him clear of the Scyther's attack. The Charmeleon grinned when he saw the slash miss him by a large distance- or at least it should have.

His eyes widened in shock when the air in front of the Scyther rippled and the flesh on his torso was ripped open by what seemed to be a blade made from air. Had the Scyther seriously slashed the air fast enough to create a vacuum and slice him with it?! Close combat with the enemy was nothing but suicide with how skilled the Scyther was at melee.

Red had come to the same conclusion as he watched the Scyther hand his team's ass to them on a silver platter in mere seconds. Mjollnir and Surtr might be exhausted from the fight with the Beedrills and thus be slower than they normally were but it still took an exceptionally skilled Pokémon to movelike_ that._ The only silver lining was that other than the initial attack on him, the Scyther did not seem very interested in attacking him. If that powerhouse was dedicated to attacking him, Red was certain that he would be dead right now no matter how hard his Pokémon tried to protect him.

"Surtr, fall back and attack him from range! Mjollnir, cover Surtr!"

That was the most feasible solution that Red could up with on a short notice to prevent his Pokémon from being eviscerated. His Pokémon would kite the Scyther until it grew exhausted or weakened and then take the Bug down. Such high speeds could not possibly be sustainable for any length of time.

His Pokémon moved to obey his commands, Surtr turning his back on the enemy with the implicit trust that his partner would be there to cover his back. Mjollnir instantly showered the area with Thunder Shocks while making sure that the Charmeleon would not be hit by friendly fire.

The Scyther, however, did not pay any attention to the Pikachu other than to expend minimal effort to dodge any attacks that came his way. His eyes were narrowed and focused on the retreating Pokémon, having designated the Dragon as the greater threat. A dark shroud began to cover his body, the foul miasma disturbing to anyone who noticed it except for the user.

Red recognised the attack that was being used.

"Surtr, move!" Red screamed as the Scyther vanished from sight. It did not move, or blur. It simply _vanished_. Red's warning and his own instincts were all that saved the Charmeleon from being killed in that instant.

Instead, he had tilted to the side so that instead of plunging into his heart, the heart that had seemingly materialised out of nowhere punctured his shoulder instead. He had lost the ability to move that arm until he was healed but that was a small price to pay for his life.

Surtr heard a light click of annoyance at having missed before the blade was ripped out of his shoulder. The Charmeleon turned around, blood boiling as the rage began to take over him. His eyes started to dilate and the tip of his tail flames turned purple. It was only Red's immediate command to "Keep control of yourself!" that Surtr managed to rein in the berserker fury that he had inherited with his draconic blood.

Red understood the Scyther's fighting patterns now. The mantis would close in on its targets with its incredible speed and then overwhelm its target with skill in close quarters combat. Vacuum Wave was not utilised as the ranged attack that it was meant to be, but a way to force its enemy to have to make larger movements to dodge not just the initial slash, but also the Vacuum Wave that would come after the slash. Any enemy would naturally seek to extricate themselves from such a disadvantageous position and seek to attack from afar. The Scyther would let the enemy retreat, and then finish them off in one strike using Pursuit. Every move of the Scyther's was designed to kill.

Now that Red understood his enemy, it was time to think of a way to counter the Scyther. The Scyther might be skilled and cunning; as wild Pokémon that lived alive were wont to be. Mjollnir was another example of that. However, he had still managed to triumph over the Pikachu because Pokémon were simply not able to adapt instantly to new surprises. He needed to exploit the Scyther's overreliance on its instincts.

The main problem with dealing with the Scyther was its speed. None of his Pokémon could hope to match the Scyther even on their best days when it came to speed. The typical trick of waiting until the exact moment it struck and then counterattacking could not work either because the incorporation of Vacuum Wave into its fighting style made it unpredictable. Kiting would instantly result in a Pursuit and his Pokémon might not be lucky enough to avoid a fatal blow the next time.

Wait a minute...he could use that.

Forced to fight at close quarters, his Pokémon were now ganging up on the Scyther and just barely keeping the Bug at bay as he continually lunged at the two Pokémon, creating a web of flashing steel that Mjollnir and Surtr were hard pressed to avoid. Every dodge had to be an exaggerated move for fear of falling prey to a sudden Vacuum Wave. The only saving grace was that they had each other to cover for the other party's brief moment of weakness and even then, the two Pokémon were covered with lacerations.

Red chose to keep silent as he watched the fight intently, praying that his Pokémon would be able to make it through this phase of the plan. The melee needed to continue or the trigger that he was waiting would never come.

After what seemed like an eternity, Red finally caught the glare of annoyance that the Scyther directed at Mjollnir, which was to be expected. From the Scyther's deviant behaviour where he went on killing sprees not for the sake for food, and where he had waited until his fight with the Beedrills was done before ambushing them, Red had deduced that the Scyther was one of those Pokémon that truly revelled in the act of fighting, and the Scyther's latest obsession was the sudden appearance of a Dragon. Mjollnir's interference was preventing the Scyther from having the vis-a-vis that it wanted with Surtr.

Therefore, if he got Mjollnir to retreat now...

"Mjollnir, get back and get ready to zap it!"

The Pikachu retreated and the Scyther's eyes immediately took on a wicked gleam as it saw an opportunity to get rid of the annoyance that had been pestering it for far too long. The dark shroud once again covered the Scyther's body as it got ready to assassinate the electric rodent.

Red waited until the darkness had reached a certain intensity and then shouted out to the Pikachu.

"Now!"

Just as the Scyther materialised right behind the Electric-Type, poised to end the electric rodent in a hit, Mjollnir let loose the electricity that it had been charging up the entire time. The forest was lit up by the brilliance and power of the attack while the Scyther's screams of agony echoed throughout the trees.

Red smiled grimly as the Scyther slumped over after the attack ended. He knew first-hand just how potent Mjollnir's attacks could be, and the Pikachu had only gotten stronger since their fights that seemed so distant now. Then, to Red's utter amazement, the Scyther's eyelids fluttered opened and it began to straighten up as it got into a stance, ready to fight again. Just now tenacious was this damned thing?!

Unfortunately for the Scyther, it never stood a chance after taking that attack from Mjollnir. Surtr had caught up with the green terror by then and the fight was ended after a blast of searing flames. The Bug was hurt so badly by the duo that when the teenager tossed his Pokeball at the Scyther, the wild Pokémon could not summon any energy to resist the capturing device and was contained easily.

Red sighed in relief as he pocketed the Pokeball. He had honestly expected for the Scyther to burst out of the Pokeball at the last minute and go on a rampage. The fear and awe that struck him when the Scyther had intended to continue fighting even after taking Mjollnir's most powerful attack was something that he had rarely experienced.

There would be time later to reminisce over this tough fight; after he was out of Viridian Forest. As much as he wanted to just collapse onto the ground and take a break here, Red was not willing to risk his life due to laziness. The numerous fights with the hive and the Scyther were bound to attract the sort of attention that Red did not want. Once the wild Pokémon figured out that the Beedrill were no longer around to hunt them down, _they_ would become the hunters and Red fully intended to be as far away from ground zero as he could.

He might be utterly and hopelessly lost now but thankfully, he had a prior denizen of Viridian Forest on his team.

"Lead us to the closest exit, Mjollnir." Red grunted as he hefted the unconscious girl onto his shoulders. His job here was done in record time. All that was left now was to get out of this death trap and get some medical attention. His extremities were beginning to feel numb and Red was sure that that was not a good sign.

* * *

Naturally, expecting everything to go well was something that the malevolent gods of the world simply would not allow.

Red's breathing more laboured with every step that he took and his mouth and head felt like they were filled with cotton; evidence that the poison had not been fully purged from his body before he had stupidly run around like a maniac and cause the poison to spread through his body quickly.

The sun had set not long ago and if the Forest was gloomy and ominous in the day, it was downright terrifying in the dark. The teenager could barely see his hands in front of him and the only thing that he could count on was Surtr's tail flame bobbing in front of him. Naturally, the bright spot in the void-like atmosphere meant that anything within miles could see it and Red was beginning to suspect that they had once again drawn unwanted attention.

The feeling of being watched had returned, stronger than ever and Red often heard the sound of rustling grass or leaves even when the wind was still. Wild Pokémon were gathering around him and Red could do nothing about it. He was desperately hoping that these Pokémon were simply curious about the newcomers and would leave him and his team alone but he was highly doubting that with the way things seemed to go with him.

The problem was that even if he wanted to move faster or confront these Pokémon, Red _could not_. Moving at this slow pace was already pushing his body to its limits because of the backpack and the girl that he was carrying. Pushing it further would likely result in him not even being able to make it out of the forest. As for fighting these elusive Pokémon? Sending his Pokémon out to find and then fight unknown Pokémon in the dark would leave him and the girl exposed, resulting in their death. Red decided it would be better to let them come to him.

The teenager lost track of time as they travelled through the dense undergrowth, his mind focused on avoiding the roots that seemed intent on tripping him and dragging him down to hell. Suddenly, the Charmeleon in front of him stopped and Red barely stopped in time, curious as to what had caused the sudden halt and the tense posture of his Pokémon.

The answer was soon revealed when a Pikachu that was distinctly nothing like Mjollnir crawled out from the darkness and hissed at the team. As though that was a signal, hissing suddenly echoed from all around the team and Red immediately whirled around, stunned by the sheer number of Pikachu that had gathered. Some were on tree branches while others all were on the ground but all of them were glaring and hissing at his team- No, their attention was focused on Mjollnir who was in turn glaring and snarling at the other Pikachu.

It did not need to be said that this was not going to be a tearful reunion between Mjollnir and his long-lost brethren. In fact, Red had a sinking feeling that was going to be yet another violent episode of fighting for his life.

The Pikachu that Red assumed to be the Alpha of the pack charged at Mjollnir, seeking to use its superior bulk to overwhelm the smaller Pikachu. Mjollnir, however, dodged the attack with practiced ease but just before he could launch an electric of his own, claws flashed through the night air, impaling the Alpha and killing it instantly. Mjollnir gaped in surprise at the sudden attack before he grinned a toothy grin at the Charmeleon who grinned back in return before the partners turned their attention to the horde of Pikachus that seemed confused now that their leader had died so quickly.

The Alpha's actions confirmed Red's suspicions about how Mjollnir had ended up in Route 1 and his size and ability. Mjollnir obviously did not get along well with the other Pikachu; either because of his small size or because of the strange length of his tail. Either way, Mjollnir had definitely been bullied by the other Pikachu, with them using their favoured electric attacks on Mjollnir until he had grown inured to it.

That would explain why Mjollnir, a Pokémon that was of a relatively low-level, was able to channel lightning through his body without dying. His body was simply used to large amounts of electricity going through it. The fact that the Alpha had chosen to attack Mjollnir physically was added evidence of that theory; why would they attack something that was immune to their electricity with electricity?

"Surtr, burn a path for us." Red commanded as he prepared to do the last thing that he felt like doing at the moment; run. His limbs felt like lead and he was pretty sure that if he started running his heart would explode. However, there was really no other way around it. If he did not take advantage of their confusion now, the team would be embroiled in a melee that was disadvantageous to them.

The Charmeleon instantly heeded his Trainer's commands, torching the area in front of them as they ran, ensuring that any Pikachu that was foolhardy enough to be in their way was burnt to a crisp. Seeing as they were in the middle of a forest, the flora around them caught fire quickly as well and spread like wildfire which had the pleasant side effect of creating light for Red. Of course, there was also the risk of being burnt but right now, Red prioritised being able to see as opposed to safety.

By the time the Pikachus were shaken out of their stupor and belatedly realised that they should get out of the fire and start chasing after the escaping trio (quartet if one counted the unconscious girl), Red and his Pokémon had already made great headway. The teenager was, for once, thankful to the Beedrills. Their presence had apparently cowed the Pikachus enough such that they did not dare to hunt for food, instead foraging whatever berries that they could find. As a result, the electric-Types were underfed and, more importantly, their hunting instincts had dulled.

The few Pikachus that managed to catch up to the trio were easily dispatched as they stupidly tried to attack at close range due to the ingrained thought that they could not use electricity when fighting against Mjollnir. This same line of reasoning was somehow applied to anyone accompanying Mjollnir. Even poisoned and having a burden in the forms of a backpack and a girl on his shoulder, the few Pikachus that attempted to ambush him by dropping from the tree branches above were easy for Red to handle. They were _nothing_ compared to the savage assaults that Mjollnir had launched at him.

Red was beginning to think that they could actually make it out of this mess when his body suddenly gave out on him. It wasn't anything dramatic; his legs simply suddenly lost all strength mid-stride and he crashed down onto the ground painfully. The cargo he was carrying hit the ground pretty roughly too and Red hoped that the impact had not killed the girl or damaged her somewhere permanently.

The two Pokémon that had been charging ahead to clear the path of threats turned back at the sound of something hitting the ground and immediately rushed over to the human's side where they hovered protectively around the dazed teenager.

Red recovered his senses in a few moments but those few moments were enough for the pursuing Pikachus to catch up with the team and surround them. Red grimaced as he stood up, the two parties staring at each other in a stalemate; neither party wanted to be the one that made the first move and overextended themselves.

The Pikachus were wary and cautious after their long time in hiding and the death of several of their brethren made them even more so. However, at the same time, they were not going to retreat because their brethren had fallen. It was a warped sense of logic that wild Pokémon applied that Red simply could not wrap his head around. In his case, Red was willing to let the stalemate continue for as long as possible until he managed to find a solution to this mess. His Pokémon much be much stronger than the Pikachus attacking them but the problem of attrition struck once more except this time it was more severe. The fights against the Beedrills and the Scyther had practically emptied their gas tanks.

Wait. The Scyther! That was an equaliser there. Red's fingers drifted towards the Pokeball that contained the Bug-Type. Did he dare to do it? The risks were high but then, so were the rewards. Was he willing to bet on the fact that the Scyther would cooperate against the Pikachus instead of turning against the people that had captured it?

Yes, he was.

Red flung the Pokeball out, revealing a Scyther that, while beaten up, still looked better than before it had been captured. The time spent in the Pokeball had apparently helped it little. The Bug Pokémon stumbled a little, disoriented from its first experience of being captured and then released. It eyes sharpened when it spotted Red and his Pokémon and made to attack when Red shouted at the Pokémon to wait and then pointed behind the Scyther.

The mantis turned around and saw Pikachus charging at the group. The sudden release of the Scyther had startled them into action and they were now charging at the group en masse. Between a group that apparently meant him no harm yet and a group that seemed intent on attacking him, the choice for the Scyther was clear. He rushed at the charging Pikachus and they were treated to the same pain that Surtr and Mjollnir had been subjected to earlier.

Seeing that the Scyther had chosen to cooperate for the time being, Surtr and Mjollnir joined in the fight as well while Red forced himself to stand up, knife at the ready as he prepared to defend himself and the girl. Since he had already carried her for such a long distance, it would be a great waste of all of his effort if he simply allowed her to die here.

Thankfully, all that Red had to do at the moment was fend off any stray Pikachus that managed to survive the Scythe and then make it through the defensive wall of Surtr and Mjollnir. Naturally, the number of Pikachus that made it through the former were few and the latter even fewer; until one Pikachu instinctively unleashed electricity when the Scyther nearly eviscerated it, causing the Bug to retreat as it remembered well the pain that an electric attack could cause.

That caused the wild Pokémon to pause for a moment before realisation hit them. It was only Mjollnir that they could not use electric attacks against! Everyone else was fair game!

"Dodge and use Vacuum Waves to take them from afar!" Red shouted to the Scyther whose only response was to sneer at the human for daring to issue a command to him and then resume his usual style of combat.

Unfortunately for the mantis, that was not going to work in a situation like this. The Scyther had dedicated itself to the art of assassination. Two Pokémon like Surtr and Mjollnir were still manageable but against a horde of Pokémon, even if they were weaker, it just would not cut it. The Scyther began to spend more time dodging and weaving through attacks as opposed to attacking and that frustrated himself. He hated to have to defend against what were undoubtedly inferior Pokémon.

Thankfully, Red and Surtr did not increase a marked decrease in difficulty in combat. Because of Mjollnir's presence and his Lightningrod ability, any electric attacks that were directed at the human or Charmeleon were drawn towards the diminutive Pikachu and the wild Pikachus were forced to return to their prior method of charging into close range.

Once again though, even though the difficulty was not high, the problem of stamina and endurance came in. A high-pitched keen sounded, indicating that the Scyther had finally been caught in an electric attack, which was to be expected. Although evading this horde would probably be no problem for the Scyther in its peak, the Bug was far from prime condition at the moment.

"God damn it will you just listen to me?! If you don't change your tactics right now you will die here, crushed like the Flying-Types that you crushed. If you're going to die anyway, what's the harm in trying something out?"

The Scyther glared at the human from the corner of its eye before it eventually jerked its in head in one quick nod which Red replied to with a nod of respect of his own.

Red waited for the perfect opportunity and then tapped Mjollnir on the back while he shouted at the Scyther to move.

The Pikachu immediately shot off towards the Scyther, intercepting numerous Thunder Shocks in the process. Mjollnir grinned as he absorbed the electricity and then unleashed all of the electricity that he had been storing in one gigantic discharge.

The Scyther charged to Red's side and began slashing rapidly. Surprised by the sudden tag in, the inexperienced rodents were unable to react in time and were torn apart.

Surtr cleared the way forward with another torrent of flames and then the party was off, sprinting desperately through the temporary opening that the combination had created. Upon Red's command, the Scyther dashed ahead of the party with his Quick Attacks and took out any Pikachus that he could see from afar with Vacuum Wave. Surtr ran beside his Trainer to take care of any Pokémon that tried to flank them while Mjollnir rounded up the formation by taking the rearguard and intercepting all the electric attacks directed at the party.

The party ran throughout the night, constantly fending off attacks by the wild Pokémon. The wild Pikachus eventually sustained enough losses that they decided to retreat. However, Red and his Pokémon were not left alone.

Wild Pokémon, though thankfully in smaller numbers, would continually attack the party in the hopes of finishing off tired and weak opponents and getting easy meals. Even when they were not being attacked, the intervals between the attacks when the party was anticipating the next attack made them tense and mentally tired.

The sun rose, and they continued to run. Where daybreak would normally signify good tidings, the nightmare did not end of the party, for daybreak meant that the diurnal Pokémon woke up and attacked the intruders in the forest.

Red would have been astounded at the fact that he was still running after such a long, if he was conscious enough to think. His mind had blanked out long ago and his body was working automatically; the only that kept it moving was his sheer willpower and determination to not die. He had a goal to achieve and he could not achieve that if he died here.

Red's Pokémon were in similar states so it was no surprise that when the human structure loomed before them, none of the party actually recognised. When the humans dressed in red swarmed out of the building, the party reacted instinctively and attacked with all that they had.

Naturally, in their weak states, they could not put up much of a fight against trained Pokémon that were fresh. They were quickly defeated and drifted off to the realms of Darkrai with the soothing words of "It's alright. You're safe now." being the last things that they heard.

* * *

_365 days to the Pokémon League Challenge_

* * *

_We were expecting a swarm attack after hearing from the Viridian Forest so all of us were stunned when a human, and just a boy at that, came out of the Viridian Forest. We reacted quickly enough though, moving out to help the boy when the boy and his Pokémon attacked us._

_We recognised that the boy was probably doing so instinctively and so we were gentle with him but damn, was that boy and his Pokémon tough. Dead on their feet after having overcome Mew only knows what kind of nightmare in the forest and they still managed to put up a good fight. _

_I'd hate to fight the boy at his peak. It would probably be like those wild Pokémon in the Forest._

_We went in to investigate afterwards, of course, and the carnage was _unbelievable_. I...It's...I really cannot describe it well enough. Okay, first there were all the Pokémon that the boy killed on his way to our outpost and that was impressive enough. I know veteran Rangers that cannot match his kill count. Mine pales in comparison._

_And then we came upon the hive, or what was left of it. Hundreds, and I am not joking with you about this, hundreds of _dead_ Beedrills, killed by one boy and his team. One. Boy. _

_As you can understand, none of us were surprised when we learnt that he was going to challenge the Gym. He had already done the impossible by not just surviving everything that Viridian Forest threw at him, but beat it back as well. That boy is the only one that can be said to have conquered an Untouchable. _

_But let me tell you something. While his feats were incredible enough, it wasn't those that make me believe that he would great someday. Actions are important, yes, but not everything._

_It was his eyes._

_I saw his eyes when he ran into the Outpost and those are the eyes of someone who will not give up and will do anything in order to achieve his goal._

Anything.

_It's hella inspiring, but also hella terrifying._

-Extract from an interview of a Pewter Ranger

* * *

Trainer Name: Red

Gym Badges: 0

Pokémon captured: 3

Pokémon Nickname: Mjollnir

Pokémon Species: Pikachu

Pokémon Ability: **Lightningrod**- Electric-type moves are drawn to this Pokémon. Electric-type moves will do no damage and the Pokémon's SP ATK is raised one stage

Type: Electric

Level: 17

Moves Learnt:

-Growl

-Thundershock

-Tail Whip

-Play Nice

-Quick Attack

-Thunder Wave

-Electro Ball

Trainer Notes:

Pikachu was the first Pokémon I fought and the meanest I had ever met up to date. Pikachu's body size is extremely small; probably half the size of a regular adult Pikachu but its tail, on the other is much longer than a Pikachu's tail. That tail might explain why Pikachu's electric attacks are much more powerful and focused than other Pikachus'.

It has displayed cunning as well in the way it sets up ambushes and has proven itself to be a quick learning, adapting quickly to new situations and then improving itself from each encounter.

Pikachu has accepted its nickname of Mjollnir, named after the hammer of the Thunder God because that is how Mjollnir appears to me; embodying the wrath of the Thunder God in one mighty smite. Mjollnir has also officially become the first Pokémon that I caught after it consented to join my team.

Personality wise, I believe there is a lot more to learn but I have found that Mjollnir has a strange fascination with television programmes and my cap.

Well, this 'adventure' in Viridian Forest proved my hypothesis. Mjollnir's abnormal capacity to absorb electricity was probably from being bullied by the other Pikachus in Viridian Forest. Due to his small nature, I think that Mjollnir was forced to defend himself with only his electric attacks and in order for that to be effective, he had to channel his electric attacks more effectively.

This also answers why he was found in Route 1. He probably fled Viridian Forest and then just kept going south as far away as his hated home before he met me.

-Red

Pokémon Nickname: Surtr

Pokémon Species: Charmander

Pokémon Ability: **Solar Power- **During sunshine, the Pokémon's Special Attack raises to 1.5 times but HP decreases every turn.

Type: Fire/Dragon

Level: 18

Moves Learnt:

-Scratch

-Growl

-Ember

-Smokescreen

-Dragon Rage

Trainer Notes:

While Mjollnir was the first Pokémon that I caught, Surtr was actually the first Pokémon that I befriended. The characteristic that stands out immediately is Surtr's black skin where a normal Charmander's is orange. It is because of this discolouration that Surtr was ostracised by the other Pokémon; an experience that I empathise with.

Because of the experience that he had growing up, Surtr tends to be surly and antagonistic except around people that he likes, of which I am thankful to be one of.

When around people that he likes, Surtr transforms into an extremely bright and cheerful Charmander and I dearly wish to see more of this side of him.

I know now the reason behind the sudden surge of aggressiveness; Surtr was close to his evolution and thus his draconic heritage. The draconic blood seems to run thick in Surtr though, judging by the power of the Dragon Rage that Surtr was in.

Did the genetic defect that caused his skin to turn colour result in these enhanced draconic traits? Or did the draconic traits result in Surtr's skin turning black? Are the two even related? Sometimes, I wish I was more like Professor Oak. I bet he would know the answer to these questions.

-Red

Pokémon Nickname: N/A

Pokémon Species: Scyther

Pokémon Ability: **Technician- **Moves with a base power of 60 or less raise to 1.5 times.

Type: Bug/Flying

Level: 18

Moves Learnt:

-Vacuum Wave

-Quick Attack

-Leer

-Focus Energy

-Pursuit

-False Swipe

-Agility

Trainer Notes:

If one talks about capturing in the tradition sense where one battles a wild Pokémon with their Starter and then captures it, then Scyther is my true first captured Pokémon.

I seem to have a penchant for attracting misfits or deviants into my team. Out of three Pokémon that I have thus far, all three are weird or abnormal in some way or another. Birds of a feather flock together, huh.

Oh well, one thing cannot be denied though. Scyther is strong. _Very_ strong. It'll be interesting to see how much stronger I can make it if it agrees to listen to me, huh.

* * *

Trainer Name: Blue

Gym Badges: 0

Pokémon captured: 4

Pokémon Nickname: N/A

Pokémon Species: Eevee

Pokémon Ability: **Adaptability- **Increasesthe Same Type Attack Bonus from *1.5 to *2.

Type: Normal

Level: 16

Moves Learnt:

-Helping Hand

-Growl

-Tackle

-Sand Attack

-Baby-Doll Eyes

-Swift

-Quick Attack

Trainer Notes:

Grandpa sure knows how to pick them. Battle-wise, there is nothing to complain about Eevee. Its foundations are strong, which make it easy to train. It follows orders obediently too and has a work ethic that I can respect. The only possible flaw is its over-reliance on its Trainer's orders; it cannot work well unless orders have been issued. Of course, that is the Trainer's job so that will be fixed in due time.

The strengths of the individual Pokémon are starting to emerge. For such a frail looking Pokémon, Eevee hits surprisingly hard, no doubt due to its Adaptability ability. While a hard-hitter, I doubt that Eevee will be the main sweeper of the team unless it changes after it evolves.

Eevee's main forte is its agility and nimbleness. I dare say she will be more than a match for Red's Pikachu in this area. Our next battle will be drastically different. I can promise that.

Personality-wise, however, there is much to complain. For starters, the Eevee is annoyingly affectionate and incredibly adept at manipulating the emotions of people around it.

I am attempting to decrease the degree of its affection but it seems like a tough battle on that front.

May the Gods have mercy on me.

-Blue

Pokémon Nickname: N/A

Pokémon Species: Wartortle

Pokémon Ability: **Rain Dish- **If Heavy Rain weather is in effect, recovers 1/16th max Hit Points at the end of the turn.

Type: Water

Level: 16

Moves Learnt:

-Tackle

-Tail Whip

-Water Gun

-Withdraw

-Bubble

-Bite

Trainer Notes:

As expected from a Pokémon from grandpa's lab, Squirtle is a solid Pokémon with a solid foundation. Training it will not be too difficult. The only thing that it is lacking is battle experience, which I will ensure that it gets in abundance soon enough.

Squirtle is, after all, my trump card against the Pewter and Cerulean Gyms.

As expected of one of its species, Squirtle is turning out to be a very tough Pokémon. Earlier today, I ran a test where I had a wild Pokémon attack Squirtle with Squirtle doing nothing but defending. The wild Pokémon collapsed out of exhaustion before taking Squirtle out.

Future plans are to work on the accuracy and power of its ranged attacks. This way, mobility will not be an issue.

Right now, I have not known it for long enough to make an accurate judgement of its personality. More will be added to these notes when I discover new facts

-Blue

* * *

**A/N: This chapter took much longer to write because, frankly, I did not expect so many things to happen in the Viridian Forest chapter. It wrote itself, I swear!**

**So yes, Charmleons and Charizards are going to be Dragons in my fic. It just never made much sense to me how something that looks so much like a Dragon is a Flying Type. I mean, Charmander even learns Dragon Rage at level 16, right before it evolves in Charmeleon! /rantend  
**

**Next Chapter will be the much awaited Pewter Gym Challenge. I assure you that it will be utterly epic. I have had the fight planned in my head for days.**

**As always, reviews will be greatly appreciated! =D**


	4. Chapter 4

**To Be The Very Best**

**Chapter Four**

* * *

_I have no idea why, but people seem to delight in putting themselves down or actively prevent themselves from reaching greater heights. When complimented, the false humility immediately comes out and they try to act humble by playing down their achievements. 'Oh no it doesn't compare to what you did' or 'It was a team effort' and numerous false platitudes are spewed out._

_Then, when an equal tries to convince others that one can strive for greater heights than just what they are doing right now, the immediate retort is something along the lines of 'What do you know? You're just like us.'_

_On the other hand, when someone that has 'achieved greatness' tells them the same thing, they reply with 'Oh what do you know? You're great now so you can say such things.'_

_Do people derive some kind of masochistic joy from such actions? _

_All it takes is for one to step out of the establish norms and create one's own path. Why do so little people have the courage to do that? Is the fear of failure truly so daunting compared to the prospects of living your life exactly the way you want to?_

_I have not, do not and probably will never understand the thinking of people like this and, truth be told, I am glad that I do not._

-Champion by Red

* * *

Red woke up to the sound of regular beeping and the sight of a white ceiling. There were no cracks and the paint was perfectly fine. Had Professor Oak called someone to paint his room while he was away? Wait, away? He had gone somewhere?

Red frowned as the beeping continued. God darn that beeping. Was it his new alarm clock? His was far more raucous and, amazingly, less annoying. Perhaps that was why he had bought this new alarm clock; to annoy himself until he got up to turn it off. Well, perhaps he _should_ get up to turn it off then. It was really getting on his nerves now.

Red rolled over and stretched his arm- or at least he attempted to. His arm felt like lead and there was a strange dragging sensation, as though something was attached to it. Curious, he looked down to see a clear plastic tube injected into his arm and held in place with a tape.

It looked a lot like an IV tube that was used in hospitals...Red's lidded eyes snapped open as his mind processed the information that he had been subconsciously obtaining and came to a conclusion. The reason why the ceiling looked different was because he was not in his room, and was somewhere else. The beeping sound had to be that of the heart monitor and he was apparently unconscious for so long that they had put him on an IV drip.

Why was he in a hospital though? Red groaned and kneaded his forward as memories rushed into his mind. The shock of discovering the hive, the desperate struggle against the Beedrills, the fight against the Scyther and more was remembered.

The teenager patted himself down and confirmed that he was wearing a hospital gown and nothing else. The belt that had held his Pokeballs was also naturally gone. Red hurriedly looked around but found no sight of his Pokemons' Pokeballs. Where were his Pokémon?!

Frantic now, Red quickly located the buzzer that would call the nurse and spammed it. He only had to wait for a few seconds before a nurse burst into the ward that he was in and zoomed over to Red's bed. Red idly noted that the nurse did not have to look at any other beds because his was the only bed in the ward, and then turned his attention back to the nurse.

He opened his mouth to speak but, hoarse from who knows how long of disuse, all that came out was some guttural croaking. The nurse wordlessly passed a cup of water that she had already prepared to the teenager who gulped it down greedily.

"Where are my Pokémon?" Red blurted out the moment he was able to speak again.

"Don't worry, Sir. Your Pokémon are being held safely in the Pokémon Centre below. Do you need anything else?" The nurse said as she smiled kindly, touched by the teenager's deep concern for his Pokémon.

Hearing that made Red feel relieved. His Pokémon were safe. All of them had somehow made it out alive from the nightmare. Looking back on the numerous struggles that they had gone through, Red could scarcely believe that his team had done all of that in the span of two days.

"How long has it been since I came out from Viridian Forest? Oh and where am I at the moment? Is this Pewter or Viridian? Also, can I go now?"

The nurse tapped her chin lightly, likely running through the rapid questions fired at her in her before answering them in order.

"It's been five days since the Pewter Rangers brought you in and yes, you're in Pewter right now. Unfortunately, you cannot go now. We still need you to stay for several check-ups and diagnoses to make sure you are in good health before we can release you."

Red took the answers in stride. Five days was an acceptable time for him to be out. In fact, wasn't five days a little too short? Considering how hard he had pushed his body and how close he was to dying, Red would not be surprised if he had been comatose for a month or longer. Contrary to his expectations, however, he felt fine.

"I feel fine though." Red said and proved it by moving his limbs and twisting his torso, feeling only a slight twinge of pain from his abdomen when he twisted his torso.

"Whoever healed me is really good!" Red exclaimed, delighted by the lack of pain or even discomfort.

"I don't think I need these now." Red said as he casually plucked the IV drips out of his arm and leapt out of the hospital in one smooth motion. The nurse was so stunned by the sudden turn of events that when she recovered from her shock, Red was already rummaging in the cabinet.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing?!" the nurse practically shrieked as Red pulled out a set of clothing in triumph. They might be even more tattered now after his little adventure in the Viridian Forest but his old clothes was definitely better than this hospital gown that he was wearing.

"Getting out of here." Red replied simply as he stripped himself, eliciting a strangled choke from the nurse. Oh, right. People tended to be irrational when it came to nudity or even some slight overexposure of skin. Red had never understood the whole squeamishness about nudity. After all, flesh was flesh, no? People were perfectly fine with Pokémon walking around naked but humans walking around naked were such a big taboo.

Oh well. Red shrugged as he finished dressing himself and grabbed the backpack that was in the closet as well and then waved cheerily to the frozen nurse as he exited the ward, smirking mischievously as he left. It might have been a little too mean of a prank to play on the nurse considering how nice she was but Red _really_ did not appreciate people telling him what he could or could not do.

* * *

"Ah! Master Red, you're up?" The nurse manning the Pokémon Centre greeted Red the moment he approached the counter.

He had to blink for a moment as he tried to process the fact that a nurse who doubtlessly saw countless people every day was somehow able to know his name, and then associate his name with his face. Some people that he saw every day in Pallet could not even do that! And then, there was the fact that she had addressed him as 'Master' which threw Red for a loop. That was...a respectful term, right? So why in the world was she using it on _him_?

Well, there was no better way than to just ask upfront, right?

"How do you know my name and why did you address me as Master?" Red asked curiously.

"Ah, the Pewter Rangers found some documents on you stating your name and they told it to the hospital and as for why I addressed you as master," here, the young blushed. Actually _blushed_.

"All of us that are affiliated to the League in one way or another have heard of what you achieved in the Viridian Forest and it was _amazing_." The nurse gushed as she looked at Red with eyes filled with awe.

"Oh...uh...thanks, I suppose." Red said weakly as he fiddled with his cap. Far too used to antagonistic behaviour, Red did not know how to deal with this near hero worship and, surprisingly, he found himself far more uncomfortable with this than the sneers and taunts that he received.

"You're welcome." the nurse beamed before she lit up as she remembered something.

"Oh, you must have come for your Pokémon, right? Please hold on for a moment." the nurse as she bustled into a room behind the counter. She emerged a moment with a tray that held three Pokeballs, and a sack that was practically bursting with Pokeballs.

"Here you go. The Pokémon that were fighting with you are on the tray and have been restored to full health. The sack contains all the captured Beedrills that the Rangers managed to recover. They decided to let you keep them considering it was your mission and your hard work that netted this. Thank you for your hard work!" the nurse chirped as she handed the tray and sack to Red thought not before staring incredulously at the large sack and then at the Trainer who captured them.

"I suppose you'll want to see the girl now then? I can lead you to her room now if you wish." the nurse said as she looked at Red expectantly.

Red, on the other hand, was confused for a moment. Girl? What girl? Why would he want to see some random girl that he had no idea about? No, there had to be a reason behind this. Although people in general were rather illogical, there was still some semblance of sense in some of them. If he was expected to see a girl, most likely in the hospital as well, then the girl was likely to be an acquaintance of his that had been injured.

Did he know any girl that had been injured? Perhaps Daisy but if she was injured she would be taken care of in Daisy, no? He highly doubted Professor Oak would let his granddaughter travel to Pewter to be healed when there was an excellent facility in Pallet.

So it could not have been Daisy. Perhaps someone that he was travelling with? That was a common assumption that people made after all. If two people were travelling together, they _had_ to be close. But he did not travel with anyone! In fact, he had not seen anyone since he entered Viridian Forest...no. He did see one person.

The nurse had to be talking about the girl that he had rescued! It all made sense now! Unfortunately, Red did not feel like visiting a girl that he did not know just to engage in awkward conversation. As far as he was concerned, his job was done the moment the girl was saved. Social norms, however, dictated that he should be interested in the welfare of someone that he had rescued. How annoying.

"Oh no it would be better to leave her to her rest. I'm sure she has better things to do than see someone like me." Red said with false humility as he shuffled backwards inconspicuously, intending to flee as quickly as possible the moment an opening presented itself. There was no shame in a tactical retreat.

Unfortunately for Red, he was not fast enough to escape the ensuing hurricane.

"Oh nonsense! I'm sure she'll be delighted to see you!" The nurse beamed as she suddenly tore around the counter and grabbed hold of his hand before dragging him bodily to her intended destination.

Red flinched at the sudden contact and tried to retract his hand from the girl's grasp but she had too firm a grip on it. Forcefully yanking his hand away would be considered 'rude' and would definitely limit him sometime in the future. Red sighed as he let himself be led away. He did not have much of a choice, after all.

* * *

The human hurricane stopped just before a door which Red assumed to be the door of the girl's ward. Instead of opening the door and letting him in, however, the nurse bit her lip nervously as she looked at the male Trainer.

"Before we go in there is something that I have to tell you about the girl. She is perfectly fine physically but she seems to have been affected heavily by her experience in the Viridian Forest. Do you know what PTSD is?"

Red nodded solemnly. PTSD; the abbreviation for Posttraumatic stress disorder is a severe condition that may develop after a person is exposed to one or more traumatic events, such as sexual assault, serious injury or the threat of death. The cause in this case would be the latter two.

"The girl is now unable to speak because of a mental block. We don't even know her name because it seems like aside from mute, she has also been inflicted with amnesia. Aside from that, her behaviour has become a little feral and she shows huge distrust to any of the staff that treats her. We were actually hoping that since you were her rescuer, she would have a more positive reaction to you." the nurse confessed.

Well that explained why the nurse was so insistent on dragging him here. The medical staff was probably at their wits' end and were counting on him as a last resort.

"I'll handle it." Red said curtly as he slipped into the room and closed it firmly behind him. If he was actually going to do this, which Red doubted at the moment, then he would prefer to do it in privacy where no one would be able to see his fumbling attempts at helping the girl. Him, of all people, helping someone with a mental issue! Oh the irony!

The sound of rustling sheets caused him to look and he saw the blonde girl that he had rescued crouched on the bed, looking like a Pokémon that was going through the flight/fight phase. Well Pokémon he could handle. Unless they were Pokémon like Mjollnir, of course.

He held his hands up, showing that there were no weapons in it. Then, as a gesture of faith, he extended his hands in a handshake. If it was an actual Pokémon that he was facing at the moment, he would have held his hands out with their palms out so that the Pokémon could sniff at it but since the girl, no matter how feral she was acting, was still a human, Red decided to go with a handshake instead.

To his utter surprise, the girl crawled forward and actually _sniffed_ at his hand. It was only long experience that kept him from jerking his hand back. Instead, he held himself still as the girl sniffed at his palm and then crawled closer to sniff at his chest.

Suddenly, the girl flung herself at him and enveloped him in a tight hug as she began nuzzling his neck happily while making some sort of odd purring sound.

Red, once again, froze. He was doing this too much. People were touching him too much. _This_ was too much! Why was she _hugging_ him? Red eventually came to his senses enough to begin struggling to break free from the girl's grip. He honestly did not care at the moment if he enraged her with his behaviour. He could just sic Mjollnir on her. All that he cared about at the moment was getting _out_.

However, the girl was far stronger than her waifish look suggested. No matter how hard Red tried, he could not escape her hug at all. He supposed that this was proof that he was not as recovered as he thought he was. Red was beginning to get desperate when the door clicked open.

"Is everything alright in here? It sounded really quiet and-oh." the nurse that had popped her head in giggled at the sight before her.

"Get her away from me." Red hissed through gritted teeth, throwing notions like courtesies away.

* * *

When Red was finally extricated from the she-demon's grasp, matters proceeded at a breakneck pace. The girl simply refused to go anywhere without Red at her side and, at the same time, refused to let Red leave alone. The staff could not on good conscience let a girl leave the hospital with a stranger, no matter how much of a hero he was.

Red settled it by dropping Professor Oak's name. He was not proud of it but he had to admit that dropping Professor Oak's name was the easiest way to settle any red tape. _Everyone _was afraid of incurring the Professor's wrath.

Moments later and he was in a private phone booth; or it would have been private if the girl had not insisted on tagging along with him. At least she had agreed to not _touch_ and instead stood quietly at one side. Why did such things happen to him? He bet it was retribution for laughing at Blue about his Eevee. Now he had his own set of problems to deal with.

Red sighed as he dialled the number to the Professor's phone that only a handful of select people knew. Red was immensely proud to be one of them.

"Red! You have no idea how glad I am to see you up and well. Are you feeling alright? I wanted to rush over but the hospital assured me that you were in safe hands and I did not want them to feel as though I did not have faith in them."

Red smiled at the sight of the genial old man and the Professor's grandfatherly concern.

"I'm fine, Professor. I'm a little tired but that is to be expected considering what I went through. I actually called you to give you a report as well as transfer the Beedrills that I caught to you."

Red then spent the next few minutes narrating the harrowing trials that he had been through in the Viridian Forest, with the Professor's face growing darker and more concerned with every word that came from Red's mouth.

Finally, when the teenager was done, he transferred all the Beedrills to the Professor, although he did not transfer the Scyther. Despite the animosity that the Bug had displayed towards Red, the mantis had still fought together with his team in the end and Red felt that that counted for something. There was also the fact that the Scyther was _incredibly_ strong and would be a worthwhile addition to his team. From the Professor's silence on him not transferring the Scyther, Red guessed that it was tacit approval for the teenager to keep the Scyther.

"Honestly, Red, I never expected the problem to be so serious. I was expecting a population that, while large, would be small enough that taking thirty of the Beedrills would be enough of a dent to drop the hives down to their regular size after the other Pokémon began preying on them again.

This should not have happened and for that, I apologise." the Professor said as he bowed deeply on the screen, causing Red to panic.

"It's alright, Professor! You don't have to apologise or bow like that! Please, get up!" Red practically shouted. The sight of the revered Professor bowing to _him_ of all people was just so _wrong_ and Red could not bear to see it.

"No one could have predicted that the hives would grow to such a large scale and besides, I'm fine, am I not?"

"Yes, you did emerge fine, after having accomplished something that no one, not me, nor Lance, could have accomplished at your age with only two barely trained Pokémon at his side. The reward you received is more than justified. No, I would say that it is not sufficient for what you have accomplished." the Professor smiled after he got up from his bow.

Reward? What reward? Was the Professor going to give him a reward now?

Professor Oak seemed to catch sight of the teenager's confusion as he pointed to Red's backpack.

"Why don't you check your backpack? I believe they placed it in your backpack after the rewards were delivered."

Bemused, Red obediently opened his backpack only to gasp at what was right on top; a red device that Red would be able to recognise even in his sleep, and a laminated piece of paper with his name on it.

"Congratulations, Trainer Red."

Red could not help it. A few tears escaped from his eyes as he picked the Pokedex and the Trainer certificate up reverently. This was the perfect reward; to be acknowledged as a Trainer for his actions. To be told by the stuck-up and elitist League that his actions in the Forest were worthy for traditions to be cast aside in favour of acknowledging that his actions were those of a Trainer.

It was...it was...Red gripped the Pokedex tightly as pride blossomed in his chest. It was _wonderful_.

The Professor stayed silent as he let the teenager have a moment to collect himself, with his own eyes misting over at Red's reaction. He was probably the only one other than Red himself who knew how hard the orphan had struggled to get to where he was now. The surge of pride that he felt when he heard that his protégé had been acknowledged by the League itself remained to this day.

The world would finally get to see what Red was capable of and he was certain that the teenager would blow any and all expectations away.

"Now, why don't you take a look inside the Pokedex? The monetary reward for your mission has been deposited into the bank and your Pokedex should be able to access your bank." the Professor said after Red had collected himself.

The newly anointed Trainer nodded and placed his thumb on the thumb pad while he held the retina scanner up to his eyes. The Pokedex whirled and clicked for a moment before it opened up and Red was able to navigate through it with ease to reach his bank account. The number that he saw there stunned him so much that he actually dropped the Pokedex. It was only thanks to the girl's quick reactions that the brand-new Pokedex was saved from a hard knock.

Red barely registered this, his mind still going over the number that he had seen. So. Many. Zeroes. He shook his head to clear his head and accepted the Pokedex from the girl, thanking her in the process.

"I can't take this from you, Professor. It's too much!" Red protested. While he was not going to shy away from receiving rewards for a mission accomplished, Red did not like receiving charity and this large of an amount stank too much of charity to him.

"Oh but not all of this is from me." the Professor said as he smirked mischievously.

"In fact, I only contributed about a tenth of this. The rest was from the league for 'going above and beyond the duties of a Trainer and impeccable performance that exceeded any expectations'."

"Oh." Red said as he stared at the Pokedex. Wow. The League truly thought so much of what he had done? He didn't think it was _that_ impressive but who was he to reject their compensation for his troubles, hmm?

Before he got overwhelmed though, he had something that he needed to request from Professor Oak. The girl's actions in saving his Pokedex had reminded him of her existence and a possible solution to his current headache.

"Professor, could you send me the full list of missing people, whether from Pewter or from Viridian?"

The Professor furrowed his eyebrows at the strange request before he eventually shrugged, deciding that Red was trustworthy enough to trust some information to and was not going to abuse the information for his personal benefit.

"Alright. I'll send it over now." The Professor typed for a moment on the keyboard and sheets of paper came out from the slit at the bottom of the paper.

"Thank you Professor. That's all from me now."

"No problem, Red. Stay safe and good luck."

With the farewells over, the screen flickered to its usual black when dormant.

Red looked down at the sheaf of papers that he held in his hands. The girl _had_ to be one of the missing people. Therefore, all that he needed to do was go through the list until he found the girl, locate her family, and then pass her off to them and his job would finally be done. No more sudden strangle-hugs of death.

It took Red ten minutes to go through the entire list. It took him another half an hour to double check the list twice. The results were the same; the girl was nowhere to be found on the list.

That was, however, only one more odd thing. He had not realised it when he was in the Forest, preoccupied as he was with other matters. For the girl to have been utterly naked, she would have to be in the cocoon long enough for the acids to melt her clothes away. However, there were no burns on her skin at all. Additionally, the doctors said that the girl was perfectly fine but a long time in the cocoon would have cut off her oxygen supply, thus killing her. She should not have been alive. Or she was in the cocoon for only a short amount of time.

Red stared at the girl sitting quietly in one corner.

_'Who are you?'_ He wondered.

* * *

Before he did anything else, there was a pressing matter that Red needed to settle. He released his Pokémon from their Pokeballs, not missing the slight flinch from the girl when she laid eyes on the Scyther.

The Scyther immediately blurred into motion, leaping backwards from the two Pokémon that had gathered protectively around Red as it sought to take in the situation.

"We are in Pewter City at the moment; a human settlement." Red exclaimed calmly as he patted his Pokémon, urging his Pokémon to relax from his touch. The Bug was already antsy enough and extra aggression would not serve his case well.

"You can relax. I do not mean any harm to you. Note, however, that you are no longer in an advantageous territory. I might not mean you any harm but this is the land of humans. Any hostile actions that you take might result in suppressive actions taken that I cannot prevent. I would recommend for you to relax."

The Scyther looked around and noted that he _was_ indeed drawing attention from his movements and lowered his scythes so that he no longer looked like he was going to attack at a moment's notice. His wary gaze, however, never stop flickering between the human and the two Pokémon.

Red nodded in approval.

"Good. You can reason. That will make this easier. The reason for me releasing you from the Pokeball is simple; I wish for you to join my team."

The Scyther snorted at this and turned its head away as it crossed its arms, obviously snubbing the Trainer. Red remained undaunted and continued talking.

"I do not know your specific reasons behind the massacre of Flying-Types but from your mannerisms thus far, I guess that you're trying to become much stronger than you would be from your normal life. I can help you with that. Our brief fight together has already proved that we have teamwork, no?"

Red could see that the Scyther was considering the offer in its head although its position did not change at all. He decided to make one last push.

"I will be honest with you though. I cannot make you the offer of 'I will let you free' if you do not accept my offer. The fact is that you have already proved to be a viable threat to any habitat that you are introduced into. I cannot let you out into the wilds. The only options that you have at the moment are to accept my terms and join my team or I will send you to the Professor where you will be a research specimen. Such is the fate of one who has drawn his sword and chosen to fight, no?

The choice, limited as it is, is yours though."

The Scyther's opinion of the human rose greatly at the end of the speech. This was not some weak little tree hugger who was talking down to him as though he was one of those other pathetic Pokémon. To expect or appreciate offers of kindness was a sign of weakness if he had ever seen one. The truly strong and independent would never accept charity and it seemed like this human understood that very well. More than, the Scyther appreciated the human's candour. He knew that few would be as upfront and blunt as the human when seeking to obtain what they wanted.

Then there was the fact that the Pokémon by his side were indeed strong ones, from what he had seen of their fight and from personal experience. The commands that the human issued in battle _had_ helped them to escape from that death trap as well. Yes, he would do.

The Scyther unfolded his arms in a swift gesture, causing his blades to scrape loudly as the Bug stood stock still with his arms at his side; a position where he voluntarily locked his weapons and exposed himself to possible threats. In other words, he accepted the human as his leader.

Red smiled. This was truly an interesting Pokémon that he had found.

"I look forward to working with you. I truly do."

* * *

Since he could think of a way to get rid of his girl problem at the moment, at least not without doing something that would deemed as morally reprehensible like simply abandoning her and then running off as quickly as he could, Red was stuck with the girl tagging along like some kind of puppy.

Well, if he was going to have the girl following him while he was in Pewter, which would be quite some time, then he was _not_ going to just keep addressing or thinking of her as 'the girl'. To that end, he decided to give the girl a nickname.

He liked giving nicknames and he believed that he pretty good at giving them too. Since he was nicknamed Red because of his eye colour and cap and Blue was nicknamed Blue because of his face colour and shirt at the time, Red decided to name the girl Yellow because of her bright yellow hair.

Yellow seemed pretty pleased with her new name which, to Red, validated his opinion that he was pretty darn good at giving nicknames. Just wait. Soon, people would be naming their children or themselves after colours.

The duo stepped out of the Pokémon Centre and was greeted with the sight of the citizens of Pewter City going about their daily lives; all of which were armed to the teeth and looked to be in the middle of a war.

Yellow's eyes boggled and she moved a little closer to the male teenager, slightly intimidated by all the swarthy people carrying weapons openly like that. Red, however, was unfazed. He knew from his reading that Pewter City was the most militant city in Kanto and the only city where _every_ citizen was armed and knew how to defend themselves, both with ranged and melee weapons.

It was not surprising, considering the fact that Pewter City lay right in between two Untouchables and impassable mountains behind them. They were quite literally trapped behind a very large rock and a hard place. The militant nature, while applicable to the present, actually had roots in the past which was also related to the Pokémon theme of choice in Pewter.

Way back in the past when Kanto was not fully united as a nation yet and each city acted as its own province, these provinces often went to war against each other either for the resources that they had or for extra territory. Cerulean often went to war against Pewter for the full mining rights in Mt. Moon.

Even though the Untouchable was extremely dangerous, people still frequently went in anyway due to the myriad treasures that could be found in it if one was lucky. Nuggets, Moon Stones and even Pokémon fossils that could be sold for millions to collectors could be found in the mountain.

Aside from that, Pewter also had Viridian to the south to contend with and, occasionally, other provinces from the Johto side of the region. For any aspiring Johtian Warlord that wanted to conquer the East side of the continent, after conquering Viridian one had the option of attempting to launch naval attacks or expand their territory by slowly gaining ground. Pewter City was naturally next in line for these would-be conquerors.

Despite the numerous provinces and later cities and even regions that wanted to invade Pewter, Pewter had never been conquered once in their entire history, earning the city the nickname of 'The Rock of Kanto'. The Untouchables acted as wonderful natural barriers, allowing the Pewter armies to easily finish off any weakened armies that made it through the Untouchables.

The citizens of Pewter took great pride in the nickname that they had obtained and so when the time came for them to decide on a theme for the Pewter Gym, the choice of Rock Pokémon that were readily available from Mt. Moon was unanimous. It also helped greatly that Rock Pokémon were super effective against the many Bugs that dwelt in the Viridian Forest.

Red explained all of this to Yellow and his Pokémon as they walked towards his destination, the party listening raptly to the male teenager, impressed with the depth of knowledge that he possessed.

They were soon in front of a building that had the word 'Gym' emblazoned across it. Pokémon Gyms were the only places that one could obtain the badges that were required to take part in the Pokémon League Competitions.

There were then two methods of obtaining the badges; one could register to be a Trainer under the Gym where the Trainer would learn all about the Pokémon that the Gym specialised in and, after the Gym Leader deemed the student acceptable, the Trainer would receive a badge from the Gym Leader.

This method naturally took a long time to accomplish which was why Red and Blue were gunning for the other method; challenge the Gym Leader to a battle and snatch the Gym Badge away by right of might. Naturally, even though the Gym Leaders scaled their Pokémon depending on how many badges the Trainer already had, these Gym Battles were arduous trials meant to push the Trainer beyond their limits. It was much faster and therefore, much harder. That was why most Trainers chose the safer route of studying under and serving the Gym that they had chosen.

Red had never done the easy thing though, which was why he was here. This building was the administration building for the Pewter Gym. The Pewter Gym was rather different from most cities.

Over time, rather than a Gym in a city, Pewter had turned into a city in a Gym. The entire city was the Pewter Gym, with many different branches scattered across the city. The building that Red was in front of was simply the administration building. There were other buildings like the training buildings, breeding buildings and the incredibly large battling stadium that was right in the middle of the city.

Once again, this tied in to Pewter's nature as a militant state. Pokémon were, after all, the ultimate military might. The number of Trainers that subscribed to the Pewter Gym to learn to be better Trainers had thus swelled so much over the years that the Gym was forced to expand to this stage in order to keep up with the demand. It was quite an amazing thing.

* * *

"I want to sign up for the Gym challenge." Red said simply the moment he was in speaking range of the receptionist.

The receptionist simply arched an eyebrow at the teenager's curt mannerisms and then held her hands out. Red silently placed his Pokedex in her hands before she nodded and keyed a few things into the computer in front of her.

"Alright. The preliminaries will be held tomorrow. The details have already been entered into your Pokedex. Good luck, Trainer Red. Hopefully you will win a Gym Badge too."

Preliminaries, commonly and 'affectionately' termed as Gauntlets by Trainers, were a series of tests or challenges that Gyms made aspiring challengers take before they were allowed to challenge the Gym Leader.

After all, while awarding badges to promising Trainers was part of their job scope, Gym Leaders were also generally in charge of many things; ranging from the military and security of the city that they were in to appearances on the media to the Gym. They could not afford to let any random upstart challenge the Gym Leaders and waste their time.

The Preliminaries were thus created to weed out the thrash from the good Trainers. Along the way, the Gyms also tried to impart the philosophy or methodology of the Gym in their challenges, resulting in different Gym having very different challenges. The ultimate aim was the same though.

Red knew all of this already which why he did not kick up a big fuss. There was, however, something that caught Red's attention.

"Someone has won a badge recently?"

"Oh yes." the receptionist said as she blushed slightly while she looked up dreamily.

"After he made that bold declaration on television, Professor Oak's grandson proved his mettle by beating Gym Leader Brock two days ago."

"I see. Thank you." Red said as he swiftly turned on his heels and exited the building. So, Blue already had the Boulder Badge huh. An unbidden smile tugged at his lips. It was to be expected of his rival, no?

* * *

"I'm sorry sir but you cannot enter unless you recall those things to their Pokeballs. Our restaurant has an image to maintain and it simply would not do for those beasts to go traipsing around in our establishment according to their whims. That would be so very unhygienic!"

"Other restaurants allow it so why doesn't yours allow it?"

"The practices of other establishments have no bearing on our practices. Please leave if you refuse to comply with our regulations. You are disturbing the peace of our patrons."

Red bristled at the waiter's snobby attitude. He knew that some of the 'high class' people viewed Trainers with much disdain because they were 'perpetually rolling in the mud and acting so barbaric'. Their opinion of Pokémon were not much better, viewing the creatures as mere trophies or pets; things to keep at home for one's amusement or to use for bragging but _never_ to actually bring anywhere important.

Although annoyed at the general stupid perceptions that these insipid fools had towards Trainers, Red was able to tolerate them. What had his blood boiling at the moment was this waiter's attitude towards him and his Pokémon. Red had not missed the slow and unimpressed examination of his Pokémon and himself by the waiter which was followed by a turn of his nose and a subtle sneer when the waiter spoke to Red in a patronising tone.

After receiving more money than he knew how to deal with, Red decided to reward himself and his team using the money that he had earned from his mission in the Viridian Forest. The choice of reward had not been hard to decide. Having been forced to live on wild game and the dried jerky that he made himself, the thought of actually easting on real good food had him and his team salivating. Since he was feeling generous, Red had extended the invitation to Yellow and the group had set off for what they had heard was the best restaurant in Pewter.

Red had to admit that he and yellow were far from the best-dressed people around, with him in his torn and shabby clothes and Yellow in an oversized dress that a nurse had kindly donated to the amnesiac girl. However, that was no grounds for such shitty treatment!

"Look, if my Pokémon will 'disturb' the other patrons as you claim, then just give me a private room or something. High-class restaurants have something like that, right?"

The waiter once again turned his nose up at Red.

"Our VIP rooms are, as their name suggests, for Very Important People only. If you could just show me your Platinum card I will show you to your room, sir."

The slight sneer that the waiter had on his face showed that he believed that there was no way that Red would have something like that, which was true. He was, however, getting extremely irritated at the waiter's behaviour.

"Call your manager out."

"He is an extremely busy person and-"

Red suddenly darted forward so that he was mere inches away from the waiter's face.

"I grow weary of your veiled insults and insolence, punk. Call your manager over now or I will show you what 'disturbing the peace' means."

The Pokémon that had previously been lounging about instantly became alert when their Trainer displayed such aggressive tendencies and focused their attention on the waiter as well. They might not have been paying attention to what was going on but they would have supported their Trainer anyway even if they knew that he was the one in the wrong at the moment. Loyalty to their Trainer came first before everything else.

The poor waiter froze instantly, unused to being threatened by someone that could actually back his words up. Thankfully, the manager who was making his rounds saw the slight commotion and instantly hurried to the man's rescue.

"Sir, please!" the portly manager called out as he ran over.

"Sir, I do not what the problem is but surely there is no need for such behaviour!"

Red's eyes darted over to the new participant in the conversation and caught sight of the Manager badge on the man's chest.

"Manager, your staff has been excessively rude to me and while I understand your customs of not allowing Pokémon in, I am aware of the existence of your VIP rooms."

"Well, yes but-"

Red cut the manager off at this point, tired of trying to argue his way through. Instead, he simply reached into his Pockets and flicked the Pokedex open, whereupon he promptly shoved the screen containing his bank records into the man's face.

"As you can see, money is no issue." Red said curtly.

The manager's eyes boggled at the sum of money that he saw there and ushered Red into the most prestigious room that he could find as quickly as possible.

The rest of the restaurant experience was absolutely pleasant. He was served dish after dish that exploded in his mouth with flavour. Even his Pokémon received the best possible service, being served food that was somehow catered to Pokémon. Red suspected that while even high class people could not bring their Pokémon in, Gym Leaders and the like were on an entirely different level; thus the creation of VIP rooms.

It was exorbitant but Red did not mind. He had money to spare now and for what was undoubtedly the best experience in his life, he did not regret it. The only downside to this was the thought of having to return to self-made dried jerky when he resumed his travels. Red could see now why people that had lived their entire lives in such luxury refused to venture into the wilderness.

When Red was done with his meal, the manager personally sent him off.

"Thank you for your patronage, sir. We hope to see you again!"

Red paused in his steps at that as he turned slightly to the side.

"Unfortunately, while the food was excellent, the service that I encountered at the beginning was terrible. I do not think it would be possible for me to return with such a large deterrent, if you know what I mean."

With his piece said, Red left the restaurant. He was likely never going to return to Pewter anytime soon anyway; definitely not in the next year but he was not going to let it go like that. Red knew that he was being petty, but _nobody_ slighted him and got away with it if he anything to say about it. In his opinion, causing a person to lose his livelihood in exchange for insulting him was perfectly alright. After all, the world was not fair.

* * *

After a meal, Red decided to buy some new clothes for himself. While far from his favourite person at the moment, the teenager had to admit that the waiter was right in criticising the clothes that he was wearing at the moment. He plucked at them gingerly, wincing slightly when a slightly more forceful tug resulted in some of the thin fabric tearing. Yes, new clothes were in order.

And then, since he was such a generous and magnanimous person, he was not averse to paying for clothes for Yellow. He thought that, being a girl, Yellow would jump for joy at the thought of being able to get as many clothes as she wanted for free but she simply tilted her head to one side curiously before she shrugged and headed into the store docilely.

Red was getting used to the quiet girl. Once he made it clear that he did not appreciate physical contact and the girl back off a little, Red found that the blonde was actually quite tolerable. She simply trotted along at his side and his Pokémon did not seem to mind her either. In fact, they seemed strangely comfortable around her which was more than a little weird for his little group of psychopathic human-hating brutes.

Clothes shopping went surprisingly fast. Red was easy since he basically picked durable clothes that looked a lot like his old clothes. Aside from a few design changes, the colour scheme and theme of his clothes remained the same. Yellow was the surprising one.

Having grown up with Blue's horror stories of shopping with his sister, Red was expecting this shopping trip to take an abominably long time. To his amazement, Yellow simply picked several copies of a dress that Red had to nod approvingly at.

The dress that Yellow had picked was, naturally, a simply yellow dress with a flared bottom and a hem that was not too low; approximately mid-thigh length which meant that running and other physical activities would not be constrained by the numerous tight skirts and dresses that he had seen many other girls wear. Sensible brown boots complemented the outfit. Yellow was appearing more and more as a decent person to Red.

Despite having obtained all that she wanted, the girl still unsatisfied for some reason. After placing her choices carefully on the cash register, the blonde twisted her head from side to side, looking for something that only the girl knew of. She then let out a delighted gasp when she finally found the thing that she had been searching for. Without further ado, she plopped a large straw hat onto her head, beaming widely as she pointed at Red's cap and then her new hat, drawing the similarities between them.

Red arched an eyebrow before he shrugged, handing his Pokedex over to the cashier to finalise the purchases. It was a strange feeling to have someone wish to emulate him but he ignored it for the moment. Now was not the time to let his mind wander when it came to sentimental things.

Tomorrow would be his debut. He needed to be in perfect condition both physically and mentally. Unimportant things would be shelved in favour of getting a good night's sleep.

* * *

The dawning of the next day brought much pain and suffering upon the Pokémon in the northern part of Route 2 as Red woke up early with his Pokémon to get some training in. Rather than training though, Red would liken it to being more of a 'warm-up'. After all, having fought the hordes in Viridian Forest, any encounters in Route 2 were tame in comparison. It was more of a way to let his Pokémon warm-up while allowing him to gauge the Scyther's abilities in a non -life-or-death situation.

Red's initial impression of an assassin was truly spot on. The Scyther was like a reaper of lives; every slash that he made took the life of a wild Pokémon. Fast, brutal and precise were the adjectives that came to mind when one watch the Scyther in action.

Stories in the mythologies that Red had read about came to mind; namely Odin, the god of war and death. What was extremely vivid in Red's mind at the moment, however, was not the god itself but the weapon that the god had wielded; Gungnir, the spear that never missed.

Red felt that the nickname of Gungnir would fit the Scyther perfectly; after all, as a precise assassin that felt most at home in the battlefield and dealing death everywhere, what better nickname could there be?

The Scyther agreed readily to the nickname when Red brought it up as well. In fact, the Scyther had practically preened when it was made known that he was named after the weapon of a _God_. Of course, Mjollnir immediately rained on his parade by pointing that he was named after a god's weapon as well while Surtr interjected that they were named after mere weapons when he was named after an actual god.

That quarrel sparked a free-for-all scuffle amongst his Pokémon that Red was content to sit back and enjoy. It was not a serious conflict and it would be good exercise for his Pokémon anyway. The wild Pokémon in Route 2 were truly no match for his Pokémon. Besides, he knew from personal experience that sometimes, the best teamwork was built not by fighting with another person but rather _against_ them.

* * *

A few hours later, Red stood in front of the building where the Preliminaries would be held. His body trembled with barely contained excitement as his eyes lit up with determination.

Finally, he was here; the first step towards realising his goal.

* * *

_360 days to the Pokemon League Challenge_

* * *

_The train of thought that led me my Eevee's nickname was actually quite a convoluted one. It started from an incident after I had obtained the Boulder Badge. _

_Pleased with the performance of my Pokémon, I gave them slightly more liberties than I usually did and my Pokémon, especially Eevee, naturally took this opportunity to run amok during our downtimes (None of them would even dare to think of screwing around during training. I made sure of that.)_

_Eevee got a little hand one day and, frustrated, I think I scolded her with something along the lines of 'Stop it, fool!' which gave me inspiration._

_The Fool is a major Arcana in a tarot deck, commonly representing infinite possibilities, which fit perfectly with what an Eevee was; a Pokémon that had infinite possibilities. However, no matter how tempted I was, naming a Pokémon Fool, no matter how fitting, was probably in bad taste and so I restrained myself from doing so. _

_I can tell you that it was pretty damn hard to do so._

_But I wasn't going to give up on that brainwave so I tried to see if there was any way that I could work around it. For those that don't know, the cards in a tarot deck are numbered and each tarot has its individual number. The Fool was the starting card with the number zero._

_That got me thinking. Zero, also known as nothing, or void. My mind wandered to Red's naming tendencies and the obsession that he had with mythologies and I was reminded of something from a different mythology._

_Chaos, from the Greek word Khaos, which means "gaping void". There are many explanations as to who or what Chaos is, but most theories state that it was the void from which all things developed into a distinctive entity, or in which they existed in a confused and amorphous shape before they were separated into genera. In other words, Chaos is or was "nothingness.", also known as zero, which is thus linked to the Fool._

_It also helped that Eevee's nature was chaotic in itself. The perfect nickname, if I do say so myself._

Rising to the Challenge by Gary Oak

* * *

Trainer Name: Red

Gym Badges: 0

Pokémon captured: 3

Pokémon Nickname: Mjollnir

Pokémon Species: Pikachu

Pokémon Ability: **Lightningrod**- Electric-type moves are drawn to this Pokémon. Electric-type moves will do no damage and the Pokémon's SP ATK is raised one stage

Type: Electric

Level: 17

Moves Learnt:

-Growl

-Thundershock

-Tail Whip

-Play Nice

-Quick Attack

-Thunder Wave

-Electro Ball

Trainer Notes:

Pikachu was the first Pokémon I fought and the meanest I had ever met up to date. Pikachu's body size is extremely small; probably half the size of a regular adult Pikachu but its tail, on the other is much longer than a Pikachu's tail. That tail might explain why Pikachu's electric attacks are much more powerful and focused than other Pikachus'.

It has displayed cunning as well in the way it sets up ambushes and has proven itself to be a quick learning, adapting quickly to new situations and then improving itself from each encounter.

Pikachu has accepted its nickname of Mjollnir, named after the hammer of the Thunder God because that is how Mjollnir appears to me; embodying the wrath of the Thunder God in one mighty smite. Mjollnir has also officially become the first Pokémon that I caught after it consented to join my team.

Personality wise, I believe there is a lot more to learn but I have found that Mjollnir has a strange fascination with television programmes and my cap.

Well, this 'adventure' in Viridian Forest proved my hypothesis. Mjollnir's abnormal capacity to absorb electricity was probably from being bullied by the other Pikachus in Viridian Forest. Due to his small nature, I think that Mjollnir was forced to defend himself with only his electric attacks and in order for that to be effective, he had to channel his electric attacks more effectively.

This also answers why he was found in Route 1. He probably fled Viridian Forest and then just kept going south as far away as his hated home before he met me.

-Red

Pokémon Nickname: Surtr

Pokémon Species: Charmander

Pokémon Ability: **Solar Power- **During sunshine, the Pokémon's Special Attack raises to 1.5 times but HP decreases every turn.

Type: Fire/Dragon

Level: 18

Moves Learnt:

-Scratch

-Growl

-Ember

-Smokescreen

-Dragon Rage

Trainer Notes:

While Mjollnir was the first Pokémon that I caught, Surtr was actually the first Pokémon that I befriended. The characteristic that stands out immediately is Surtr's black skin where a normal Charmander's is orange. It is because of this discolouration that Surtr was ostracised by the other Pokémon; an experience that I empathise with.

Because of the experience that he had growing up, Surtr tends to be surly and antagonistic except around people that he likes, of which I am thankful to be one of.

When around people that he likes, Surtr transforms into an extremely bright and cheerful Charmander and I dearly wish to see more of this side of him.

I know now the reason behind the sudden surge of aggressiveness; Surtr was close to his evolution and thus his draconic heritage. The draconic blood seems to run thick in Surtr though, judging by the power of the Dragon Rage that Surtr was in.

Did the genetic defect that caused his skin to turn colour result in these enhanced draconic traits? Or did the draconic traits result in Surtr's skin turning black? Are the two even related? Sometimes, I wish I was more like Professor Oak. I bet he would know the answer to these questions.

-Red

Pokémon Nickname:Gungnir

Pokémon Species: Scyther

Pokémon Ability: **Technician- **Moves with a base power of 60 or less raise to 1.5 times.

Type: Bug/Flying

Level: 18

Moves Learnt:

-Vacuum Wave

-Quick Attack

-Leer

-Focus Energy

-Pursuit

-False Swipe

-Agility

Trainer Notes:

If one talks about capturing in the tradition sense where one battles a wild Pokémon with their Starter and then captures it, then Scyther is my true first captured Pokémon.

I seem to have a penchant for attracting misfits or deviants into my team. Out of three Pokémon that I have thus far, all three are weird or abnormal in some way or another. Birds of a feather flock together, huh.

Oh well, one thing cannot be denied though. Scyther is strong. _Very_ strong. It'll be interesting to see how much stronger I can make it if it agrees to listen to me, huh.

* * *

Trainer Name: Blue

Gym Badges: 1

Pokémon captured: 4

Pokémon Nickname: Chaos

Pokémon Species: Eevee

Pokémon Ability: **Adaptability- **Increases the Same Type Attack Bonus from *1.5 to *2.

Type: Normal

Level: 16

Moves Learnt:

-Helping Hand

-Growl

-Tackle

-Sand Attack

-Baby-Doll Eyes

-Swift

-Quick Attack

Trainer Notes:

Grandpa sure knows how to pick them. Battle-wise, there is nothing to complain about Eevee. Its foundations are strong, which make it easy to train. It follows orders obediently too and has a work ethic that I can respect. The only possible flaw is its over-reliance on its Trainer's orders; it cannot work well unless orders have been issued. Of course, that is the Trainer's job so that will be fixed in due time.

The strengths of the individual Pokémon are starting to emerge. For such a frail looking Pokémon, Eevee hits surprisingly hard, no doubt due to its Adaptability ability. While a hard-hitter, I doubt that Eevee will be the main sweeper of the team unless it changes after it evolves.

Eevee's main forte is its agility and nimbleness. I dare say she will be more than a match for Red's Pikachu in this area. Our next battle will be drastically different. I can promise that.

Personality-wise, however, there is much to complain. For starters, the Eevee is annoyingly affectionate and incredibly adept at manipulating the emotions of people around it.

I am attempting to decrease the degree of its affection but it seems like a tough battle on that front.

May the Gods have mercy on me.

-Blue

Pokémon Nickname: N/A

Pokémon Species: Wartortle

Pokémon Ability: **Rain Dish- **If Heavy Rain weather is in effect, recovers 1/16th max Hit Points at the end of the turn.

Type: Water

Level: 16

Moves Learnt:

-Tackle

-Tail Whip

-Water Gun

-Withdraw

-Bubble

-Bite

Trainer Notes:

As expected from a Pokémon from grandpa's lab, Squirtle is a solid Pokémon with a solid foundation. Training it will not be too difficult. The only thing that it is lacking is battle experience, which I will ensure that it gets in abundance soon enough.

Squirtle is, after all, my trump card against the Pewter and Cerulean Gyms.

As expected of one of its species, Squirtle is turning out to be a very tough Pokémon. Earlier today, I ran a test where I had a wild Pokémon attack Squirtle with Squirtle doing nothing but defending. The wild Pokémon collapsed out of exhaustion before taking Squirtle out.

Future plans are to work on the accuracy and power of its ranged attacks. This way, mobility will not be an issue.

Right now, I have not known it for long enough to make an accurate judgement of its personality. More will be added to these notes when I discover new facts

-Blue

* * *

**A/N: And the first milestone has been reached! Over 50k words! woohoo!  
**

**Now, there are several things for me to address.**

**1) I received several reviews telling me about scene breaks and I was wondering what the hell these people were talking about and then I went back and looked at the chapters. Apparently, saw fit to remove the scene breaks I had included in my word document when I uploaded and I did not know about it. Sorry about that _**

**2) As you guys (probably) know, TBTVB was done for NaNoWriMo. NaNo's over now but I will still continue this on this fic, just on a much slower pace. Also, since I seem to have gotten back into the groove of writing, I'll be alternating between updating this fic and Winds of Change. For those who follow TWOC, good news for you. For those that don't, what are you waiting for?! XD**

**3) I know I promised the Pewter Gym Challenge this chapter but things just got away from me. Yellow demanded screentime and I really wanted to do some character development in between battles, to flash out the personalities and traits the characters. (Red is quite an immature asshole, yes but he'll grow out of it. The immature part, at least XD)**

**4) Nothing much, just Review, please! It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside every time I receive a long and detailed review. **


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